


to build an opera house

by iwillwalk500miles



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Small Town, Angst with a Happy Ending, Background Bees, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Mental Health Issues, Mutual Pining, Opera Houses, POV Third Person Limited, POV Weiss Schnee, Slow Burn, Trans Ruby Rose (RWBY), Weiss Schnee Needs a Hug, Weiss Schnee-centric, he's a corrupt politician who has dealings with like the mob or something, i have a brand now, i mean he's referenced but i'm tired for writing for that asshole...so, it's just copious amounts of sadness and then boom! happy ending, sort of it's actually more like a small island au, those two are for the schnees, unlike my other fic jacques does not make any appearances in this!!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-20
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:05:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 68,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22812751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iwillwalk500miles/pseuds/iwillwalk500miles
Summary: What do we deserve?The question reverberates in her mind, longing and unending apathy filling her heart quicker than a raging river.What do I deserve?Not this.Or;(She longed to create something great, something that reverberated in the hearts of everyone who would come to find it, something that is breathtaking and awe-inspiring. It came to her on that broken stage, her eyes closed up tight and voice loud and sharp, beautifully effortless. An opera house, she decided. She'd build an opera house.She is only six years old, but with that single desire, from that moment on—her fate is sealed.)
Relationships: Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Comments: 145
Kudos: 274





	1. i was meant to love you

**Author's Note:**

> this work is heavily inspired by 'opera house' by cigarettes after sex
> 
> oh and all the german used is in this format 
> 
> "Sie singt! She's singing!" with the translation to english coming after the german as shown (with the german words italicized)

When Weiss thinks of opera, she remembers the first time she learned of it. Remembers the first time she’d seen someone sing.

There was something distinctly profound about the woman who sung on the stage. She had strut across the platform, her chin held high—broad shoulders straight and high, adding a sharp air of confidence to her already self-assured movements. Weiss remembered comparing the woman to a lion, the fearsome roar of her song and her quick languid movements, graceful despite the weights that seem to drag her expression to the floor, droopy and pinched. She lowers herself down into a crouch, almost crawling but not quite, and she _sings_.

The world seems to fall away, and that is how Weiss Schnee discovers opera. 

(In truth, it felt as though opera discovered _her_ —it’s long and languid lyrics, the orchestra, the entire sense of being. For a moment sentient, for a moment, looking up at the too small pale headed girl in the shadow of her sister, and it’s clear it can see Winter too—only looks at _her._ )

“Winter, winter!” Weiss whispered fiercely, wiggling in her seat, desperately trying to get her older sister’s attention. _“Sie singt!_ She’s singing!” 

_“Ja._ Yes.” She responded, voice bland and disinterested. _“Sie ist._ She is.” Her sister leans into her royal red chair, subtly slouching into the palm of her hand and watching the singer with no small amount of distaste. It’s clear that Winter does not hold the woman on the same pedestal as Weiss, her head tilted so that small ringlets of white hair falls into her eyes. She huffs, blowing the strands out of her face, and looking at Weiss from the corner of her eyes, head leaned away from her.

Weiss remembered thinking that _of course_ Winter saw things different than her, couldn’t appreciate the wonders that were standing right in front of her, waiting to be seen—after all, her head was tilted upward, and everything looked different when you looked down instead of level. (Literally.) 

_“Soll ich aufpassen?_ Should I be paying attention?” Winter’s words were distinct and snappy, showing that she truly does not wish to be there.

Weiss had resisted the urge to pout, because she was _five_ years old now—she couldn’t afford to be seen with nothing but a perfectly crafted mask of inexpression. Though, somehow, her feelings start to seep into her unmarred, pale face. She couldn’t quite believe how entirely _apathetic_ Winter was by the woman on the stage. 

“ _Ich wusste nicht, dass Leute so klingen können._ I didn’t know people could sound like that.” Weiss whispered softly, fighting the urge to snap at her sister—she manages to succeed, though she notes that her voice sounded far more defensive than was socially acceptable. Grumbling a little, her eyes return to the performer, taking in the way the sets on stage _move_ for her—mountains breaching themselves in a hurry to allow her to walk forward. 

Her words manage to get a real smile out of Winter, tiny as though it may be. “ _Dann hast du nicht zugehört._ Then you haven’t been listening.”

And so Weiss, expectant and so hopeful the will in her heart may be strong enough to shatter the moon, shut her mouth, closed her eyes, and _listened._

That’s how she falls in love, that’s the moment she begins to long for something she can’t put her finger on.

That yearning follows her, it clings to her tiny soul and intertwines itself with her body and mind—it is there, constantly, an endless desperate wanting that can never be erased. The desire is unquestionably mysterious for a year, and then she turns six.

Her mother had always rather liked going on vacations, so she gathered her children and took them to a small island—a place so _different_ from Atlas that Weiss could only gape as the palm trees and sunlight and ocean danced in the face of her astonishment. It is here that she finds it, here that she learns just what she wants.

And it starts with an abandoned opera house, with her tiny figure walking across the stage—humming the first opera song she’d first encountered.

(She longed to create something great, something that reverberated in the hearts of everyone who would come to find it, something that is breathtaking and awe-inspiring. It came to her on that broken stage, her eyes closed up tight and voice loud and sharp, beautifully effortless. An opera house, she decided. She'd build an opera house. 

She is only six years old, but with that single desire, from that moment on—her fate is sealed.)

Years later, she opens her eyes, pale haired lashes fluttering against porcelain cheeks. Her hand goes to the left side of her face, long fingers—the knuckles blushed red with blood and bruises—brushing against the line carved into her skin. She watches the area in front of her with no small amount of _weariness_ weighing down her bones. 

She stood in front of a large building, run down and so _obviously_ abandoned. 

They had vacationed on this island every summer, had gone down to enjoy the sights and sounds. It was never actually enjoyable for any of the Schnee children, but it had been _something,_ something away from Atlas and the manor that trapped them all. Weiss had been lucky to stumble across this building as a child, she had been lucky—and that’s better than Whitley or Winter can say. It was a surprise they’d been allowed to wander off on their own, but their mother had always been busy meeting with an old friend, and their father couldn’t care less about what they did as long as nobody saw them doing it.

It had been the victim of a fire, long ago, and it had left the bricks that made up the building scorched black and the windows shattered. The faint smell of soot lingering in the air despite how long it had been. Grass grew through the cement, reaching up and dancing in the wind and light of the sun. She felt a smile tug at her lips, pain shooting through the nerves in her face, and eyed the moss and shrubbery that had grown up the walls and around the area.

She had missed her old opera house.

Weiss was startled after her dead gazed revere by the crunching of gravel coming from somewhere behind her. She didn’t bother to turn around, already having some idea of who it was.

“Sure you want this one?” His voice was light and airy, though there was an underlying sense of befuddlement that curdled any and all softness she may have shown him. “There are plenty of other places all _over_ the island, most in much better shape than these old ruins.”

“I’m sure.” Though she didn’t speak coldly, there was a toneless tang to her words that made the older man next to her wince. 

“Er… right-o, Miss Schnee.” He coughed awkwardly.

She fought the urge to roll her eyes, glancing at him for a moment. Blonde hair, blue eyes, and a distinct amount of scruff on his face that screamed ‘has been.’ Inwardly she sneered, like _he_ could judge her actions, he looked like every small town cliche middle-aged man rolled into one. (God, she wondered if he had horses or a farm or something equally blasphemous.) She couldn’t quite keep the smile off her face at that.

He mistook the curl of her lips for friendliness, and grinned right back at her—so open and bright for a moment Weiss feared she’d been blinded. 

“I’ll call you with the details later, once I get my hands on the deed.” He explained, suddenly much more personable talking to her. “Hopefully the transaction will go through soon, and you can get right to construction.”

She nodded, humming. He suddenly seemed more willing to talk to her than before, was it because of her smile? Perhaps she could consider doing it again, he might get his work done much faster if she seemed pleased with him. Weiss smiled, soft and small, not entirely _warm_ but good enough for the man in front of her.

“Thank you, Mr. Xiao Long, I appreciate you helping me with this.” She didn’t want to talk to him anymore, hopefully he’d take the hint and leave her alone.

“Please, call me Tai.” He sent her his blinding bright smile again, a look of pure genuine joy that made her cringe a little. “Taiyang if you’re one of those stuffy gals—” His face was panicked suddenly, “—not that there’s anything wrong with stuffy girl or anything like that—”

“Right.” Weiss interrupted him, slow and not quite gentle. “Thank you… Taiyang, you can call me Weiss, if you’d like.” 

He smiled, sheepish and bright. “Well alright then, Weiss.” His gaze lingered though, and a slightly worried crinkle marred his otherwise sunny face. “Er… I suppose that’s it for now—did you need a ride back to where you’re staying?”

She paused, in truth she wasn’t exactly _staying_ anywhere. Her trip to Patch had been… last minute, to say the least. Luckily for her she’d been discussing buying up land on the island for a while now, or she’d be horribly out of the already small amount of good luck she had. Weiss figured in her mind that Taiyang had to know, just a little, about her living situation—the way his gaze lingered over the fresh scar over her eye and bruises littering her face and hands said that much. 

“I…” She paused. “No, thank you.” 

“Miss—I mean, Weiss.” He began, looking awfully fatherly for a man she’d only talked to a couple times before that moment. “You do know that your shirt’s covered in blood?”

“Not much.” Weiss stiffened, she’d made sure to wear a jacket to hide any evidence of… blood, so she was very much caught off guard by his assessment. 

His exasperation was very apparent. “Have you been seen by any doctor yet? I can make you an appointment with the clinic if you want—or the hospital, but that’s all the way on the other side of the island.”

She didn’t quite know what to do when faced with his kindness. It made Weiss hesitant, jumpy. There had to be a way to get this man to leave her without completely alienating him from helping her in the future. She didn’t _want_ to see a doctor, she would be fine… well, as fine as she could be. It wasn’t like there were any other injuries—her father’s men had their orders, and he had made it clear that any permanent damage should be avoided. 

Unfortunately, not all his men seemed to get the memo. 

Maybe she should go to this clinic, make sure that her skin wasn’t anything more than bruised. But… she examined the man in front of her again, taking in the earnestness painted clear as day on his face. It had to be some sort of trap, some test—why else would he bother with helping her? She chewed on the inside of her cheek, perhaps he hoped that treating her kindly would improve the amount of money she’d planned on paying him. 

She felt her unease settle slightly, it might not be his motivation for helping her—but it _was_ something she could work with. Perhaps she could use the time he helps her to suss out more about him—to discover his motives and ambitions. She fought the smile threatening to curl on her lips, she’d welcome his help, but she would make sure she figured out _exactly_ what he wanted. 

“I would… appreciate that.” She started hesitantly, still gnawing at the inside of her cheek. “Thank you.”

He looked very relieved, as though someone had lifted a heavy burden from his shoulders. It caught her suspicion at once. “It’s really no problem, Weiss.” He waved off her apology, “Let’s go get those injuries looked at.” 

He led her to his old red pickup truck (another cliche) and happily drove her to their destination. He seemed to like talking, making bad jokes or telling barely funny stories. She was oddly thankful that he liked chatter on, it meant that she didn’t have to say much about herself, and gave her ample opportunity to put together just exactly what kind of man was helping her. So far, things seemed as though he genuinely wanted to help her, because he was just that kind of person—the ‘oh don’t worry just pay it forward’ type. Weiss didn’t trust that. 

Taiyang was a strange man, Weiss concluded, he was strange in that way only wistful old men could be. Which puzzled her, because he looked much younger than he sounded, only his mid-forties or early-fifties. He reminded her of a human mailbox, always stuffed with letters that often had plenty to say. 

She also concluded (from a tattoo and wide, alert eyes) that he was either ex-military or ex-police, which made her even more wary than before. It was nothing against the military in general, it just… reminded her too much of her sister to be anything more than a discomforting factor. As for the police… well, her father had instilled a healthy amount of suspicion and wariness to their practices into each of her siblings. Which, now that she thought about it, was probably one of the only sensible things he had taught them.

How depressing.

“So.” He said, slowing the truck down and putting it in park. “Wanna tell me how you got those bruises?”

“Not necessarily.” Weiss answered coolly. “I’m sure you were able to pick up on some of the… details just by your examination of me.”

He sucked on his teeth, licking at his mouth warily and tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. “I don’t think you’d appreciate my thoughts on the subject.” 

“Try me.” Weiss said with a frown, crossing her arms. 

He looked hesitant, but answered. “I think you were the victim of an assault of some kind—most likely a robbery. Probably in a less populated area or maybe early in the morning, it doesn’t look like anyone came to help you.” Taiyang turned to look at her now, lips pursed in worry. “I think there was more than one assailent, and that both of them took your things…” He smiled now. “And I think you gave ‘em one hell of a fight.” He frowned again. “Which would be pretty stupid, even if is a little cool.”

She wasn’t exactly surprised, but she did take note of the fact that he had very good observational skills. Weiss would be more impressed, but every single one of his observations had been wrong—except for the fact that she fought back and it was more than one person who’d attacked her. It wasn’t like she could hold it against him though, she doubted much of anybody could identify the real story. 

“Not quite.” She answered. “The real answer is much simpler.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Mhmm.” She hummed, smiling so he’d think she was joking. “I was attacked by a corrupt politician and his goons because I was playing spy and had information that could ruin his despicable plans for world domination.”

Taiyang snorted. “And those plans were what? Missiles pointed at every major country? Nuclear bombs? Was he gonna break the Geneva convention?”

“That’s a secret I’ll take to the grave.” She said seriously.

He looked at her for a moment, assessing—and then burst into hearty laughter. “So you _do_ have a sense of humor! I’m glad, it’s always nice to work with someone who isn’t afraid to joke around with workers.” He sobered slightly, though his smile was still bright and beaming on his face. “You don’t have to tell me what happened, I get it.”

“Thank you.” She responded, slightly touched. Weiss didn’t like how nice he was being, she kept expecting him to pull something nefarious when she wasn’t looking. 

He nodded, “I won’t say anything to the doc, but you’re gonna have to come up with a story to placate them.” 

Weiss nodded. “I can tell a tale.”

Taiyang snorted. “Not if it’s who I think is working today.”

They walked inside, finding almost no one but the workers at the front desk. One, a man with brown hair that seemed to defy gravity and grassy green eyes—grinned broadly at the sight of Taiyang. He was tall, with a tan that clearly said he wandered off on the beach far more than he ought to, and he was muscular. He looked familiar to her, and that put her on edge.

Weiss immediately didn’t trust him. But, then again, she didn’t trust most people. 

“Hey, Tai!” He greeted, a smirk on his face. “What did you fall off the tractor again—” Then he saw Weiss, and his smile froze. 

“You guys alright to take walk-ins?” Taiyang asked meekly, “Um… Weiss here got in a little bit of trouble.”

“Of course.” He said immediately, eyes flitting from Weiss to Taiyang nervously. “Let me get the forms for you, and uh, then we’ll help however we can.” 

Then she remembered him. 

The military was solace for Winter Schnee, she met people there—comrades. But there had been a team, one of the best in Atlas, that had encouraged her to do more than seek out the military because she didn’t want to be near her father. Weiss stared at him, stared and didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t blame him for her sister’s departure, it wouldn’t be fair. 

But that didn’t mean she couldn’t be the slightest bit ticked off that Clover Ebi had somehow found his way to Patch.

She nodded stiffly, mumbling a tiny thank you, and looked away.

The forms were easy enough to fill out, and soon after she’d given them back to Clover (without actually looking at him, of course) she was soon ushered into the back by him. (Which made things worse.) It was clear that the clinic was understaffed, so she supposed it made sense they had a nurse helping out in the front when he could.

It was… kind of awkward, in all honesty. 

Taiyang had decided to stay with her, saying something about making sure she didn’t succumb to the evil that was the doctor most likely working there. That helped a little, he seemed to catch on that Weiss didn’t much want to talk to Clover so he chattered on enough for the both of them.

“—and that was the first time I knew my daughter was destined to make things explode—”

Clover coughed into his elbow, doing his best to hide his laughter, and turned to Weiss with a gentle smile on his face. “We’re almost done, just have to check your blood pressure.” 

She nodded, shifting uneasily, and allowed him to place the cuff around her arm. She winced a little when it started to squeeze, but otherwise didn’t react. 

“So…” Clover tried. “Um… how’s your sister?”

“Fine.” She said shortly. 

He nodded awkwardly, and Taiyang visibly recoiled. 

“You two know each other?” He asked, his eyes wide. “Wow, Clover, I didn’t know you knew how to make friends.” 

Clover furrowed his brow. “I’m good at talking to people!” He protested. “Just because I didn’t immediately decide I want to go to your stupid BBQ cookouts—”

“They aren’t stupid!”

“—doesn’t mean I’m unsociable.” He finished. “Besides, I don’t really know either of the baby Schnees that much, it’s the oldest that I’m more acquaintanced with.” He frowned, “Speaking of which, does Winter even know you’re here?”

“Does she know _you’re_ here?”

“Probably not, but you can never tell with your sister.”

“Well, there’s your answer then.” Weiss scowled, ignoring how the expression irritated the cuts and bruises on her face. “She’s busy, and she won’t be learning about this—” She gestured everywhere, “— _any_ of it.”

Clover blinked, smiling awkwardly. “If you think that’s best.” 

She huffed, sighing. 

They had to redo taking her blood pressure. 

Finally, they were ushered into a room, where Taiyang sat on one of the chairs and Weiss carefully on the bed. It was a little while before any doctor walked in, and by the time one did she was starting to feel a little antsy. 

The woman that walked in was _tall._ It did not help that Weiss was very short, compared to everyone else. The second she crossed the door’s threshold she pumped a bit of hand sanitizer in her hands, quickly applying it before allowing her stern gaze to settle on Taiyang. Her golden blonde hair was pulled into a loose but professional bun, a curl of her hair framing the right side of her face. Her eyes were very green, and were narrowed accusingly at the man she’d arrived with. She didn’t seem to notice Weiss, or if she did, didn’t seem to want to acknowledge her existence. 

“Oh.” The woman began, sighing a little. “I was hoping Clover had lied.” 

“Glynda!” He cheered. “How are you?”

“Worse now that you’re here.” She pursed her lips, adjusting her glasses and straightening her coat. She turned to Weiss, assessing her for a moment. “I’m Dr. Goodwitch, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Schnee.” She extended her hand. 

“Likewise.” Weiss replied, shaking her hand. 

“And why are you here today?” Dr. Goodwitch asked, her gaze softening when they landed on her, though not by much. 

“My brother likes to play pranks.” She lied. 

The doctor hummed disapprovingly, as though she knew Weiss was lying. “And his prank led to… these.” 

“Almost.” She said, “He played a prank and I ended up in the area needed to be the victim of an assault.” 

She raised an eyebrow. “Can you tell me how you were injured?”

“I was hit a lot.” Weiss frowned, gesturing to her left eye. “And… and I was cut up a bit… er, with a very sharp piece of someone’s fist.” 

“You got that from a _punch_ in the face?” Dr. Goodwitch noted with a raised brow, clearly disbelieving.

“It’s been treated already.” Weiss said honestly, “I’m only here because Mr. Xiao Long—er, Taiyang—recommended I get the bruises looked at, just in case.”

He nodded, shooting the doctor a thumbs up and beaming.

Dr. Goodwitch ignored him. “Right well, are these the only injuries you have?”

“No.” Weiss said, showing the doctor her hands. “And… and some on my back in stomach, but that’s—”

“Hmm.” She hummed, her expression pulling into a deeper frown. “May I see them?” She turned to Tai. “Get out of here.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He saluted, despite the fact that they were of similar ages. 

Weiss sighed, and eventually participated in everything the doctor asked her to do. It wasn’t very bad, and by the end of it she was telling her what she already knew.

“You’re incredibly lucky.” Dr. Goodwitch told her, something reluctant in her eyes. “None of your injuries look particularly serious, but the cuts on your face and hands will have to be properly bandaged.” 

“Right.” Weiss nodded. “Thank you.”

The appointment ended soon after Dr. Goodwitch had Clover bandage her. Before she could leave, the woman pulled her aside

“Ms. Schnee.” She greeted, “I wanted to give you this.”

She handed Weiss a pamphlet that said, _Join us here—a judgement free zone to overcome our experiences with abuse._

“You aren’t the only one on this island to mysteriously show up with a plethora of bruises and a lackluster story about how they happened.” Dr. Goodwitch said, and though her words were sharp her tone was gentle. “If you ever feel the need to talk about what happened, there are options you can take.”

Weiss stared for a moment. “...thank you?”

The doctor nodded stiffly, before turning around and walking back to her office. 

She stared at the pamphlet for a moment, and was about to drop it in the trash can when Taiyang shot her a disapproving stare. 

“It might be good for you, if you let it.” He said. 

“It wouldn’t be.” Weiss frowned, but put the pamphlet in her pocket. She didn’t like that he had the power to chastise her. “I’m not talking to anyone unless it’s private.”

He smiled sympathetically. “Not a fan of crowds?”

“Not really.” The loose ends talking to a group about her issues would drive her insane.

“My youngest is like that.” He noted. “Maybe you two would get along.”

“Maybe.” Weiss said simply, despite the fact that she had no intention of meeting either of his children. “Thank you… for bringing me.” She suddenly felt very small, tinier than she’d ever felt before. She couldn’t quite comprehend why this man was helping her so—didn’t understand why he would go out of his way. 

He smiled brightly, before looking worried again. “So do you need a ride to the nearest motel? Do you have enough money to get a room?”

“Yes, to both.” Weiss replied, “I made sure that accommodations would be obtainable despite my… situation.”

“Alright.” Taiyang said, clearly relieved. “You’re around my daughters ages, you know? I don’t know what I’d do if something like this happened to them.” 

“Thank you, again.” Weiss said after a moment, despising the fact that she had to thank anyone for anything. “I could pay for your gas money, if you wanted.”

Taiyang chuckled. “There you go, telling jokes again.” He winked. “Don’t worry about it, kiddo.”

Weiss paused. She didn’t think she’d ever been called _kiddo_ before. “Thank you.” She mumbled, and she notes with despair that her voice is much softer than it had been before. She also finds that throughout this entire experience with him, she hasn't been able to suss out just exactly was motivating him to bring her here. Was it because he was genuinely concerned? Did he have an ulterior motive? Any idea she came up with that might prove just what it was he wanted with her came up short, and she despised that Taiyang seemed as though he was unreadable. 

She sulked the rest of the drive to the motel.


	2. i knew i loved you at first sight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The woman was the tallest, dwarfing Weiss and the boy by a large margin. Her hair was dark, and if not for the way the sun shone down upon them (revealing blood red highlights) she would’ve mistaken the color for black. Her skin was a shade darker than Weiss’, but still pale—nothing like the dusty brown skin of the boy next to her. Her smile was bright, the way her lips curled around her teeth easy and natural, as though she spent more time smiling than anything else. Her dimples were assymetrical, something that drew Weiss’ attention right away—the small beauty marks under her left eye and mouth being the next things.
> 
> Her eyes were almond shaped and silver, shining like the moon—sparkling like the way the sun hit the ocean around them. 
> 
> Something in her chest burned at the sight of her, something curled up between her ribcage and soothed her tired bones—something made her feel at ease. It wasn’t like with Sun, who she’d only become comfortable around when he started talking about Winterreise, the effect of this woman was instant—as though with a single glance Weiss was ensnared in a trap of emotion she didn’t quite know the name of.
> 
>  _Oh._ Weiss thought. _She’s beautiful._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello! i headcannon Summer Rose as latina! which means in this fic Ruby is half latina and half chinese!!
> 
> (also i labeled german as "old atlesian" but didn't know exactly what spanish would be called in Remnant,,, so,,, it's just spanish until i figure out an appropriate name)

If Weiss Schnee was being quite honest, she’d already had quite enough of her motel room, thank you very much. The carpet was stained, the wallpaper gaudy and torn, and there was a couple next door who had argued for two hours straight before having _very_ passionate hate sex. Which was disgusting, even if Weiss was a little impressed by how quickly they seemed to change their minds about each other. (Honestly, who can get into such a heated argument with another person and then go right to sucking face? It was practically a scene out of some trashy romance novel.)

Which would be _another_ cliche she’d encountered in Patch since she’d arrived.

In order to escape the… _homey_ confines of her room (and also the frankly disturbing couple next door) she spent the next two days out of sight from the motel as much as possible. Which was hard, considering she had to walk everywhere and didn’t know the town that well. In the end, she mostly just ended up making her way back to the old run down opera house, sitting outside until she could find it in herself to return. 

Eventually though, she still found herself enthralled by the determined bonds of boredom. 

Reluctantly, she set about exploring the downtown area near her motel. Convincing herself to get up in move had been a little bit of a challenge, but in the end at least she knew the town around her a tad better. The area was beautiful, somehow. Patch wowed Weiss with its simplicity, its bright colors and friendly people—Atlas was an alien planet in comparison. She found herself not quite smiling as she walked around, but she had definitely enjoyed herself, which was shown physically by the fact that she wasn’t frowning. 

Eventually she came across a store that made her pause. The window was big and shiny, showcasing the inside through golden and blue lettering that happily spelled out, “SEA’S SOUND”

In the end, curiosity won over her common sense.

When she opened the door, instead of bell ringing throughout the room, a small piano chime sounded. She fought the urge to smile at that. The area was decorated in lavish and homey colors, with posters of various musicians and performers randomly strewn onto the walls—which were made of nice glossed wood. The floor was a little icky, the carpet not quite clean and stained in some places, but still obviously well taken care of. 

There was a man with deep blue hair at the register who smiled as she passed, but didn’t do much else. Despite the way his eyes lingered in places they probably shouldn’t have, she found that she was thankful he didn’t try and strike up a conversation. 

It wasn’t quite as pristine or grand as she was used to, but they had an excellent amount of instruments, all in rather excellent condition. She also found a diverse amount of records and CD’s, which she made a beeline for immediately. She hummed idly to herself, her lips twitching upward as she perused the (admittedly small) Atlesian opera section. 

“Oh, hi!” A man’s voice interrupted her. “I don’t think I’ve seen anyone else under the age of fifty looking in this section!” 

Weiss’ eye twitched. There went her pleasant afternoon. She didn’t turn her head, only glancing at the figure from the corner of her eye, fighting the urge to scoff. She didn’t care what he was there for as long as he left her _alone_. He grinned in her peripheral vision, leaning his arms on the wooden table. 

She hummed, not really responding to his words or actions and still trying to keep to herself. Her eyes zeroed in on a particular CD, her hand reaching out to inspect it, only to find that the man had already grabbed it.

“I’m Sun Wukong,” He greeted goodnaturedly, “I didn’t know there was a fellow opera connoisseur in town.” Sun smiled down at the CD case in his hands. “Ooh! Atlas’ very own Von Hameln, huh? You a fan of the new age stuff?”

She eyed him, finally turning to face him. He was blonde, first and foremost, his hair wild and spiky—a faunus tail of the same color waving behind him lazily. He was tall, with broad shoulders and sunkissed skin. His blue eyes were almond shaped, his chin dusted dirty blonde stubble, and his face was kind—only offset by the pointedness of his chin and cheekbones. He was wearing a white dress shirt, unbuttoned all the way—revealing his chest and stomach, which was quite in shape—and torn up shorts and red sandals.

He looked like someone who frequented the beach often. 

“I suppose.” Weiss had only really grabbed the CD because the name was familiar. She’d sung with one of his orchestra’s once when her father had been adamant on her cultivating the talent, she remembered distantly, her lips twitching upward. Piper Von Hameln was a kind man, if a little pretentious.

“That’s dope!” Sun grinned. “If I’m being honest, Von Hameln is a little too… energetic for my taste—I’m more of a ‘the hurdy-gurdy man’ type of guy.”

Her eyebrow quirked. “ _Der Leiermann_.”

“Yeah!” His smile grew wider. “ _Winterreise_ is one of my favorite operas.”

“Mhmm.” A tiny quirk of her lips was the only hint that she was on the verge of smiling. “I quite like most of the songs Franz Schubert composed in that piece.” They were pretty much all wildly depressing, the themes of winter and ice striking a cord within her heart the instant her little prepubescent self had listened to it.

His blue eyes sparkled. “You’ve got a bit of an accent, you wouldn’t happen to be from Atlas, would you?”

Pushing down the sudden suspicion, she nodded hesitantly. 

“Chill! I’m uh, Sun Wukong.” He said, suddenly looking a tad more sheepish. Sun rubbed at the back of his head, fiddling with his hair as he rocked back and forth on his heels. It was kind of... _endearing_.

“You said that.” Weiss responded, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, I did!” He nodded rapidly, a tiny flush rising on his cheeks. “You’re my boss’ boss, right? I work for Mr. Xiao Long.”

“Oh.” Well, that at least explained why he was suddenly so embarrassed. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Totally!” His grin was so bright Weiss feared for her vision. “When I found out we were building something over the old opera house I was super duper depressed, but you must like opera as much as me right? So whatever you want built there can’t be that bad.”

She didn’t openly gape, but her eyes did widen a fraction. “You… You think that I’m alright just because I happen to enjoy opera?”

He blinked, shrugging as though it was obvious. “Well, yeah.”

Was it really so simple for him? How strange. There was something about Sun Wukong that made her at ease—he seemed like the type of person she wouldn’t get along with before, using slang she didn’t understand and no doubt a connoisseur of crude humor, not to mention her father would never approve her getting along with a faunus—but he also seemed kind.

Weiss was in desperate need of kindness, these days.

“I’m rebuilding it.” The words slip from her mouth easier then she meant them to. “The opera house I mean, I’m going to make it better again.”

“Wow! That’s totally _awesome_ , dude!” He looked even more excited than before, a feat which Weiss would have thought was impossible. “How are you gonna do it? Gonna add speakers to the building or gonna let the singers do it all natural?”

“I was thinking of having a larger room with speakers and a smaller one without them,” She explained, “to appease any traditionalists I come across.”

The opera world was like that, conservative listeners considering any newer technology (speakers and microphones) to be a blight. Weiss understood wanting to preserve traditions, but she wasn’t going to cater to a bunch of old men just because they wanted her to do something that in the long run didn’t make much sense.

He nodded placing one hand on his hip and the other on his chin, stroking his stubble. “Smart, getting the best of both worlds… but uh, how you gonna do it? I mean, the company doesn’t have an experienced electrician right now, sure Yang—Mr. Xiao Long’s daughter—is good with that stuff but I don’t know if she’d be able to do such a big project by herself.”

“I shall have to see.” Weiss admitted with a shrug. “No matter the issue, the project will be well funded, so don’t worry much about—”

“I wasn’t worried about the money, dude.” Sun smiled, tilting his head. “I just wanted to make sure that my new friend was as stoked about this as I am.”

_Friend?!_

“Um—”

“So, Patch isn’t supes big in the opera community—” He waved toward the lackluster racks of music in front of them, “—you gonna make it a theatre place, too? For like, plays or musicals or whatever?”

She blinked away her surprise. “That was the plan, yes.”

Weiss Schnee had only known Sun Wukong for three and a half minutes, but she already knew that this man was going to be the death of her.

“But there’s still going to be shows right, with opera?” He asked optimistically.

“I should hope so.”

“That's dope!” He bounced up and down in excitement. “So, is the Atlas scene super different from Patch? I know when I moved from Vacuo I was confused as to why everyone was wearing so many clothes.” He laughed. “Bit of a culture shock, am I right?”

Weiss did her best not to immediately keel over and die. “People are certainly… friendlier.” 

“Yeah? Well, considering it’s _Atlas_ that isn’t exactly a surprise.” He snorted, rolling his eyes, placing his hands on his head, flexing his arm muscles a little as his shoulders shook in barely hidden laughter.

“Yes, I suppose.” She nodded, not quite sure what was so amusing.

“Um, oh this is totally embarrassing.” His cheeks flushed as he scratched at his ear. “I don’t know your name? I know that Mr. Xiao Long told me but I wasn’t really paying a lot of attention—”

“Weiss.” She stated simply. “My name is Weiss.”

He blinked at her for a moment, his eyebrows slowly raising in surprise. “...you’re joking, your name is _white_? What’s your last name, c’mon tell me, please?”

Weiss was usually reluctant to reveal to someone her full name, for fear that they would recognize her through her father. But, well, there was no point in keeping it from Sun—not only was she a little interested in him as a person, but he worked for Taiyang and no doubt would learn whether she told him or not.

“...Schnee.” She mumbled after a moment.

“White Snow.” He nodded, smiling. Sun blinked after a moment, a grin splitting his face as he started to visibly vibrate. “Wait a sec, your name is basically _Snow White_! Oh my goodness, dude you’re like a modern fairytale or something!”

“Er… yes.” She agreed, trying not to show her discomfort.

“Weiss Schnee…” He nodded, humming. “Where have I heard that before?”

“Probably your boss.” She added cooly, hoping that he hadn’t heard of her father. It would certainly be disappointing if a potential acquaintance was driven away by the idea that she might be anything like him.

“No, that's not—” Sun frowned, before blinking after a moment. “Oh! I remember now!” He dug into the CD’s in front of them, the grin on his face only growing wider with each passing second. “You have the same name as this chick!”

He pulled out a case, grinning at her as he happily presented her the CD. 

Her heart dropped. 

A teenager stood on the front of the cover, her eyes closed—her face smooth and unblemished. A familiar asymmetrical ponytail was fashioned on the back of her head, long hair curling slightly at the bottom upward, like a princess. She wore a pure white shoulderless gown, her hands positioned behind her back—arms so pale they almost blended in with the pale blue background. The only spot of color that wasn’t cold and bleak were the red jewels on her head piece, miniscule compared to everything else.

Sure enough, her name was written in red cursive just above her head. _Weiss Schnee_.

“Mr. Wukong.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. 

“Call me Sun, or just Wukong, none of this ‘Mr.’ business.” He waved her off, still beaming somehow. (She didn't think she'd met someone who'd smiled so much, sure Taiyang did it a lot but Sun did it every other _second_.)

“Wukong.” She started, a sigh slipping from her mouth.

“Yes?” He asked, tail wagging excitedly behind him.

“That’s me.”

The silence that settled over the two of them was heavier than Weiss would have expected. Sun’s smile had gone stiff over his face, his shoulders going riged in such a way Weiss feared for a moment that he had actually froze. It was such a strange sight, this man who had been so energetic and warm the moment he opened his mouth to speak to her—going so very _still_. 

“Oh… my… god.” He looked like he was hyperventilating. 

Weiss blinked, panic surging through her. “Are, um, are you alright, Wukong?”

“I’m—uh, a little shook, if I'm being honest.” He admitted through a wheeze. “It’s not every day you meet an opera singer so popular that even small town _Patch_ has heard of her.”

“What are you saying?” Weiss asked, raising her hand as though to steady him, but deciding against it. She barely knew this man, as nice as he seemed, touching him didn’t feel right.

“You’re joking, right? I mean, didn’t you see the poster?” He blinked, standing straighter and gesturing to a poster to the left of them “You’re famous, dude.”

“Oh.” She blinked, the poster was a bunch of albums by people from Atlas, and at the very top was her name and a small picture of the cover of her most popular album. “I didn’t… I did not see that walking in.”

“I’ll keep it quiet for you, if you don’t want people mobbing you.” Sun suggested sympathetically. “I’ve never been famous but I wouldn’t want a bunch of people following _me_ around when I’m trying to do something.”

“I thought you said Patch didn’t have much of an opera following.” Weiss pointed out, her brow furrowing.

“I mean yeah, but you’re still _famous_ , dude—not to mention we don’t only have your opera works, but all your… would it be indie? Rock?” He pursed his lips, thinking. “I don’t know, but we have like, an album or two of yours that isn’t in Old Atlesian—so a couple of people around here have probably listened to it—this is the only music store in town, and a lot of people in Patch are old fashioned.”

“Ah. I see.” Weiss said, despite not seeing at all.

“Don’t worry, bro.” He patted her shoulder lightly, pulling away when he noticed her go stiff. “The only person I’ll tell is Mr. Xiao Long, and that’s only because he’s my boss and probably should know.”

“Thank you Sun,” She used his first name this time, “I appreciate that.” 

“No problem!” He beamed back at her.

They talked a little more, mostly about opera and the job that she’d hired Taiyang for. She ended up leaving with a new copy of _Winterreise_ , Sun had insisted on giving it to her (apparently he was good friends with the owner of the shop) and buying a portable CD player. It wasn’t as though she was going to use it for anything else but the CD that Sun had given her, but she thought it was a good buy anyway. 

She waved goodbye to Sun, eyeing the blue haired man uncertainty. (He winked, and Weiss fought the urge to scoff. Though she was happy to note that Sun immediately began to chastise him, which made her feel a little better about being blatantly ogled.)

Weiss found herself making her way down to the beach, opening up her portable player and slipping on the headphones that came with them. Happily (though you wouldn’t know it by looking on her face) she popped in the CD and sighed happily as the music began to start. 

_How depressing_ , she thought with a twitch of her lips. 

Stopping just short of the sand, she reached down and rolled up her pale gray slacks, slipping off her socks and shoes and placing them in the satchel she’d brought along with her. She hummed, also rolling up the arms of her white dress shirt until they were comfortably up to her forearms. She hadn’t been to the beach often, not recently and not much near the time that her family had vacationed, but Whitley had told her all about it.

He’d found his safe place and she’d found hers. (And in the end, that was all there was to say.)

She moved forward, not flinching at the slightly burning feeling of sand under her bare feet. Weiss walked until she reached where the ocean kissed the ground, humming as waves brushed along her ankles. 

She could understand why he’d liked it, she decided. It was quite nice, walking along the coast—of course that may only just be because she was listening to opera, and she _loved_ opera in any capacity that she received it. That, however, didn’t mean she didn’t enjoy the feeling of wet sand between her toes; despite the fact that it would be a pain to clean them off later. The sharp smell of seawater pervaded her senses, though the scent was surprisingly more relaxing than she thought it would’ve been. 

The imagery around her didn’t go with Winterreise at all, but she couldn’t find herself minding, humming along to the opera—mouthing the odd lyric here and there.

Weiss wondered what it would have been like to sit along the coast with Whitley together, him reading his favorite books and her listening to her favorite operas. They would have had a nice time, she decided, they would have been able to find solace in each other’s company like they usually did—only they probably would’ve been far more relaxed _here_ than the unused room hidden away in the manor. 

Briefly, she wondered what he was up to, right now. Did he regret what he did? The mistake he made?

She didn’t know.

“Excuse me?” 

Weiss blinked, jumping slightly, and turning towards the sound of the voice—taking off the headphones that shrouded her ears in song. 

Oh.

It was a young woman and teenage boy.

The boy was tiny, dark brown hair messily falling into strange hazel green eyes. His freckles were dusted across his cheeks in a way that reminded her of youth, his face round and cute. He was dressed in stained shabby looking clothes, one a farmer or rancher might wear, it was strange—seeing someone so obviously accustomed to hard work. 

The woman was the tallest, dwarfing Weiss and the boy by a large margin. Her hair was dark, and if not for the way the sun shone down upon them (revealing blood red highlights) she would’ve mistaken the color for black. Her skin was a shade darker than Weiss’, but still pale—nothing like the dusty brown skin of the boy next to her. Her smile was bright, the way her lips curled around her teeth easy and natural, as though she spent more time smiling than anything else. Her dimples were assymetrical, something that drew Weiss’ attention right away—the small beauty marks under her left eye and mouth being the next things.

Her eyes were almond shaped and silver, shining like the moon—sparkling like the way the sun hit the ocean around them. 

Something in her chest burned at the sight of her, something curled up between her ribcage and soothed her tired bones—something made her feel at ease. It wasn’t like with Sun, who she’d only become comfortable around when he started talking about _Winterreise_ , the effect of this woman was instant—as though with a single glance Weiss was ensnared in a trap of emotion she didn’t quite know the name of.

 _Oh._ Weiss thought. _She’s beautiful._

“Yes?” She asked, trying not to sound as taken as she already was.

The woman smiled, a little soft and sheepish. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I thought you were someone else.”

“Oh?” Weiss raised a brow, she wondered who she could have possibly mistaken her with.

“Yeah,” The woman flicked a bit of spiked red hair out of her face. “A boy used to come down here and read, he was friends with me and Oscar here.”

That sounded like her brother. A small amount of dread pulled into her stomach, and any attraction that she might have had to this woman faded, blown away from her with the soft winds that came from the ocean in front of them. “Why did you think I was him?”

“You have the same hair.” She explained, gesturing a little spastically to Weiss’ uneven ponytail.

“Ah.” It must be him, she thought, it _must_ be. “What was his name?” She asked softly, and felt bad for hoping it wasn’t her brother.

“Um…” The woman’s eyes narrowed, considering. “Whitley, why?”

A breath escaped her lips, _of course_. “I suppose that means you were friends with my younger brother.” She looked back at the water, and decided that perhaps it was best that she never accompanied him to the beach. He deserved to have something to himself, even if he was… different, nowadays, it was nice to know that he had some people at least.

“Oh!” The woman suddenly looked far more excited. “Is he here with you?”

“No.” She responded flatly.

“Do you… do you think he might visit, someday?” It’s the first thing the teenager says, and it’s full of something that she can’t identify.

“Probably not.” Weiss said, barely able to keep herself from snorting.

“Oh.” The boy deflated, strange hazel eyes dimming.

“Not because of—” A sigh fled from her lips, she hadn’t meant to imply that their friendship might not have meant much. “He… he’s very busy now, I’d expect.”

“But… he might?” The girl asked hopefully, something shining in her eyes.

“I… yes, I suppose he might.” She conceded hesitantly, fiddling with the headphones around her neck. “Whitley… he’s—” She grit her teeth, her shoulders going stiff. “Nevermind, if you’ll excuse me.” He’d never show his face here, she thought as she moved to walk away from them, not if _she_ was there.

“Wait!” Someone called, but Weiss was already gone, slipping away from them as she walked stubbornly back to the parking lot she’d entered from. 

* * *

Two days after that, she got the call. 

“Hey there Weiss!” The jovially irritating voice of Taiyang Xiao Long greeted her. “I was just calling to check up on you, and also to tell you that we are cleared to start working on that old property of yours—I was hoping we could meet up at the _taqueria_ for lunch to finalize all the details.” 

The news was the balm for her chaffed soul. 

It was getting bad for her, before he had called. There was a swarm of dark emotions that seemed to reach from her chest and extend out to the entirety of her motel room—making the already uncomfortable area cold and hair-raising. It was almost like there was a storm cloud that surrounded her, suffocating her in its gray puffs—like it was shrouding her head, hiding her face and making her vision go hazy. The desperation to do something _worthwhile_ had been even worse, like rough sandpaper scraping over her exposed skin and making dry heaves rattle her ribcage.

But that call, that call was her relief. 

“Alright.” Weiss fought the silly urge to smile. “What’s a _taqueria_?”

Taiyang went silent. “I forgot that you were white for a second… Give me a minute.”

Weiss frowned, what did her skin color have to do with this? She thought for a moment, racking her brain, and then realized it may have something to do with the fact that she was born in Atlas—a place not exactly known for its diversity. So instead of getting offended, she waited patiently, curious as to what Taiyang was going to do.

“Alright, alright, I’m back.” His voice sounded determined. “I don’t know much Spanish so I had to ask my daughter for some pointers.”

Weiss frowned. “That’s… nice?”

“Wow, you’re more awkward than my brother-in-law.” He whistled. “I mean, _wow_.”

She sighed, not saying anything in response and pinching the bridge of her nose. Weiss jumped when a loud bang rang out through the wall. It looked like that couple from next door were at it again.

“Okay so basically a taqueria is a restaurant that’s good at making anything with a tortilla.” He rambled off excitedly. “Tacos, burritos, even tortas which don’t even come with tortillas—you follow?”

“I… yes.” She didn’t.

“Okay, so first things first—do you have a ride? If not, that would be great, because I _absolutely_ have to make sure that you get there.” 

Weiss grimaced, leaning against the wall (the one opposite to the sounds of grunting and bedsprings). “I don’t have a ride.”

“That’s perfect! My daughter is actually going to work her shift right now, she works part time for Señora Calavera, so we’ll get to see her! She’s the one I told you about, the one who doesn’t do well in crowds?" He paused for a moment, as though considering. "Oh, and the one who accidentally blew up her sister’s motorcycle—not the one who likes to flirt with our neighbor.”

“Um.” In truth she didn’t remember much of what Taiyang had to say about his daughters. “Alright.”

“It’ll be a good thing, Weiss! Trust me.” His voice was chipper enough to soothe her worries somewhat, but not quite enough to get her to fully relax. “We can also get to talking business, so don’t worry too much.”

“That seems…” She hesitated, trying to find the right words to describe the experience.

“Fun?” Tai asked excitedly.

“I suppose.” Weiss mumbled, rolling a bit of hair between her fingers. “Though I do hope you're not exaggerating.” 

“I’m not!” He told her, tone triumphant. “Alrighty, Weiss—I’ll be there in about ten minutes, oh and before I forget you should probably bring all of your plans, blueprints and the like.” 

“Of course.” Weiss nodded seriously despite the fact that he couldn’t see her. She was lucky that she’d had enough time to grab her plans before her father learned of her escape.

(Well, more like she was lucky that Klein, the family butler, had been kind enough to get her some of her things before her father had come home that night.)

“Oh! Sun told me that you met, hit it off.” Taiyang mentioned, his tone slightly teasing.

“He has a wonderful taste in opera.” Weiss admitted grudgingly.

“Ha! Really?” His voice was full of surprise. “I can’t say I knew that.”

“You probably couldn’t tell it by looking at him.” Weiss agreed goodnaturedly. “The opera we talked about was truly—”

“Oh look at that! I’m in my truck, I’ll call you again when I’m outside, okay? Bye!” He hung up the phone hurriedly, making Weiss snort into the receiver. If he didn’t want to talk to her about opera he could’ve just said so, she knew that it wasn’t exactly popular with people nowadays, so it wasn’t as though she could blame him.

She grabbed her pale gray peacoat, slipping it on around her shoulders—she fiddled with the collar of her sky blue dress shirt, doing her best to straighten it out while she ignored the sounds of her neighbors. She smoothed down her dark slacks, sighing for a moment. She wondered if she should invest in some casual clothing. Weiss hummed to herself absentmindedly, carefully putting on a pair of ruby red earrings.

A particularly loud moan rang out, making her roll her eyes. 

_Animals_.

Ten minutes later, she was sliding into Taiyang’s red pickup truck. 

“Hey, boss.” He greeted with a slightly teasing grin. “You look fancy.”

She glanced down at her clothes. “These are the only things I have…”

He winced, his eyes going to her still prominent bruises—the scar marring her face. “It’s alright, kiddo. Nothing wrong with dressing up now and again.”

Weiss snorted. She wanted to tell him that he didn’t have to worry about her like that, didn’t have to treat her like she was some victim in recovery, but couldn’t quite find the proper words to voice her thoughts. She noticed him smile out of the corner of her eye, his shoulders slumping a little as he relaxed.

The ride to wherever they were going (a taqueria, she reminded herself) wasn’t so chattery as the time before. Perhaps it was because he was comfortable enough in her presence not to have the urge to fill the silence, perhaps it was because he sensed her subdued mood, either way Weiss was happy enough to nod along to his staticky radio. She wasn’t much of a classic rock fan, but she could still find herself enjoying the sound—it was music, after all.

They pulled up into a parking lot, and Taiyang began to excitedly explain different foods that she could order, going in great detail. It was clear that he was very passionate about these types of meals.

“My wife used to make me a lot of these things.” He revealed. “She was an excellent cook, unlike me.”

Weiss’ lips twitched upward slightly. “That sounds nice.”

“It was.” He agreed quietly, leading her out of the truck. “She’s gone now, and when we all miss her we tend to come here… It’s probably why Ruby got a job here, come to think of it.”

Weiss guessed that ‘ _Ruby_ ’ was one of his daughters.

The building they walked into was brightly colored, oranges and blues and greens and reds—trimmed with yellow. The walls were lined with colorful skull masks, the most beautiful gray and blue. There wasn’t a whole lot of people inside, which Weiss was thankful for, but the ones that were there looked and smiled when she entered—most of them greeting Taiyang immediately.

It seemed he wasn’t kidding when he’d said that he’d eaten there frequently. 

“Oh, hey Mr. Xiao Long.” A woman welcomed him from the cash register, short dark hair curling around her chin and ears. Her amber eyes glittered as she greeted him, a small smile growing on her face as she took him in. “Ruby’s in the back if you wanted to see her.”

“Ah, what did I tell you about all the ‘Mr.’ business, Blake?” He beamed at her. “You’re practically family.”

“Of course Mr. Xiao Long.” She nodded, ignoring him completely. “Can I get you anything?”

He pouted, “I’ll take my usual.” He turned to Weiss, “Do you need help deciding?”

She nodded, eyeing the menu above them uncertainty. 

What the fuck was a _torta de lengua_?

“She’ll have…” He hummed, turning to face Weiss again. “Do you prefer chicken or beef?”

“Chicken, please.” She stuffed her hands into the pockets of her peacoat.

“And do you like rice and beans?” He tilted his head, blonde hair falling into his eyes a little.

“I… yes.”

Taiyang grinned, and looked back at Blake. “She’ll have the number three, I think.”

Blake nodded, eyeing Weiss uncertainty. There was a vague sense of hostility in her eyes that made Weiss inwardly tense. Though she remained calm on the outside, there was no hiding her apparent unease.

“Don’t worry, kiddo! It’ll taste good, I promise.” 

“Um, thank you.” Weiss mumbled, averting her gaze. 

“That’ll be eleven fifty-three.” Blake interjected, looking away from Weiss as though she’d been burned.

“Alrighty.” Taiyang said, and began to pull out a dark leather wallet.

“I can—” Weiss started, only to be interrupted.

“Ah, don’t bother Weiss, I got this one—consider it your official welcome to Patch.” His smile was soft, fatherly almost; the sight of it making her hair stand on end. 

“But—” 

“C’mon kiddo, you gotta learn to accept help when you need it.” He chastised, his eyes flickering to her scar.

She turned away, swallowing and averting her gaze. How was it that this man was able to affect her so? It seemed like she was one disapproving look from him away into spilling all her secrets. Weiss couldn’t have that, she just _couldn't_. Sure Taiyang seemed nice enough _now_ , but could she really depend on it staying that way? Trusting him was a bad idea, her father always said never to rely on someone you do business with if it wasn’t guaranteed that they—

 _Oh_.

Since when had she started listening to her father?

“Come on, Weiss, let’s go sit down—we can talk while they get the food ready.” He gestured for her to follow him to one of the tables. 

She obeyed hesitantly, ignoring the burning stare of the woman (Blake) and slipped into one of the handsome wooden chairs. 

He grinned, “So, what do you got for me?”

Weiss pulled her blueprints from her satchel, carefully handing them to him. While he looked them over, she also pulled out some of the 3D models of what she wanted the opera house to look like. It had been a downright pain getting these things done under her father’s nose—she couldn’t quite trust any of the architects, engineers, or much of the other specialists that she needed with keeping quiet—so it had taken years for her to find the right people to keep their mouths shut. 

“Wow, you’re pretty much all set, huh?” He looked over the plans.

“Yes, this has been a long time coming.” She admitted quietly. “If there’s anything amiss—”

“You’re fine, Weiss.” He smiled, “Just a little surprise how prepared you are, a lot of people who hire me don’t really know what they want done—and we don’t get to do much of anything until they get word from an architect, and even then.” He whistled. 

“That seems.” She tilted her head, glancing out the window. “Unprofessional.”

Tai snorted. “That’s one word for it alright.” 

Blake called out his name. 

“Ah, that’ll be the food, I’ll be right back.” He grinned. “You’re gonna love it, trust me.”

“I better.” She mumbled under her breath, making him laugh.

Weiss turned back to look out the window, leaning her cheek onto her palm—watching as cars drove by and people walked along the sidewalk. It was nice, she decided, getting out and about again. She’d been hesitant to go anywhere but her opera house since she’d been confronted by her brother’s two… friends.

How had that happened? She wondered. Their entire family was stuck up, Whitley even more than Weiss, so how was it that he’d managed to befriend two people on the island—one of them obviously a farmer of some sort? Maybe they’d wooed him somehow, she thought with a smile, not quite able to fight back her amusement. She could definitely see the teenage boy drawing her younger brother’s attention. 

“Incoming!” Taiyang’s voice interrupted her, and Weiss hastened to put the plans back into her satchel. 

“That smells good.” Weiss admitted softly.

“It tastes better.” He grinned, placing a plate in front of her. “Each little taco has two tortillas, so you can make another taco out of all the meat that falls out—and here are some sides.” He placed down a couple slices of lemon and a small container filled with a green sauce. “The salsa is spicy, okay? So try it before you put it on anything.”

“Yes, sir.” She rolled her eyes, a bit sarcastic. “What did you get?”

“A torta.” He grinned, “Best thing I ever tasted, I assure you.”

Weiss didn’t smile, even though she felt like it. She drummed her fingers on the table, raising an amused eyebrow.

Taiyang’s eyes flickered down to her hands, a small frown bleeding into his jovial expression. “Those haven’t healed much yet, huh?”

Her fingers froze. “Not much yet no.”

He hissed sympathetically. “Do they still hurt?”

“No, Taiyang.” She sighed. “I’m fine, just a little bruised up.”

“Hmm.” He shrugged, looking back at his torta (though it looked a little bit like an overzealous sandwich.) “You seem like a good kid, Weiss, what are you—twenty-one, twenty-two?”

“Twenty-two.”

“You’re too young to be getting into spats to save the world.” He winked, “Even if it is to stop a corrupt politician who…" He looked up at her hopefully, "Tried to feed the president to sharks?”

“A secret I’m taking to the grave.” She reminded him seriously.

“Haha.” Taiyang smiled goodnaturedly, a little teasing. “I should know better than to try and pry a secret out of you by now.”

“ _Dad_!” A voice rang out through the restaurant. A blur of red and black jumped over the counter, tripping a little when she landed on the floor, before surging forward to where they were sitting. “You came to visit!”

Weiss felt her heart drop. Oh, _of course_.

“Hey-a, Petal.” Taiyang grinned, standing to give his daughter a hug. “I told you I was coming, don’t know why you’re taking it as such a big surprise.”

The woman from the beach looked up at him, shooting him a big and cheesy grin. “It’s still nice to see you.” 

Tai chortled. “You’re making me feel so loved, Rubes.” 

Weiss tilted her head and wondered if that was what a father-daughter relationship was supposed to look like. She shook off her quiet revear, looking down at her tacos. Suddenly, she wasn’t hungry anymore.

Tai turned to her, smiling. “Ruby, this is—”

“Whitley’s sister!” Ruby exclaimed, her eyes going wide.

Weiss’ eye twitched. She didn’t think she liked being referred to like that.

“Wow, kiddo.” Taiyang said, looking down at her. “Everyone seems to know you as someone’s sibling, huh? First Clover and now my own daughter? Does your family get around or something?”

Weiss sighed, brushing a little bit of hair out of her face. A sudden desire to see Sun raged through her, at least _he_ knew her because of her own merits. “I suppose.” 

“Anyway, this is Weiss Schnee, she’s the one who—”

“ _Schnee_?” A voice said from behind them, a little venomous. 

Weiss fought the urge to bury her face into the palms of her hands. Was it really so too much to ask for a little _discretion_?

“Whoa, Blake what’s the matter—” Ruby started, slipping away from her father’s arms and lifting her hands in surrender.

“Nothing.” Blake said, crossing her arms, expression cold. “I’m just surprised that her dad’s finally let her off of that leash of his. What, here to drill some oil? Maybe start up some type of coal mine?”

Weiss stayed silent, clenching her fists. 

“What does her dad have to do with this?” Tai asked.

“What didn’t she tell you? Her dad’s _so_ very famous, biggest corrupt politician in Atlas.”

Taiyang went silent suddenly, his face going a little pale. He turned to Weiss as though he understood something. “You weren’t joking.”

Weiss went still. 

“Hey, Blake c’mon—” This was Ruby.

“It’s fine.” She said through gritted, rising to her feet and grabbing her bag. “We can continue this at a later date.” 

“Wait—”

She hurried out the door, ignoring the burning in the back of her throat. Weiss swallowed the bile in the back of her throat. Was it so naive of her to hope that no one would recognize her through him? _Yes_ , she thought as she walked away from the brightly colored restaurant. _She had been naive._

Weiss wondered if her father was laughing at her, in his well furnished manor, laughing at how easy it would be for her to come crawling back to him. It was that moment she realized she wouldn’t go back if it killed her, wouldn’t do it if her life depended on it.

If her father thought she’d return to him, he had another thing coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> quick psa winterreisse is a real opera by franz shubert, if you're interested in why weiss likes it so much all you have to do is look up the lyrics to one song, so depressing.
> 
> oh and piper von hameln doesn't exist, he's just a nod at another fic of mine
> 
> blake means well, i mean, what would you do if a corrupt politician's family member (who looked as though they were going to do something that could potentially harm the town you live in) waltzed in and started meeting with construction companies? I wouldn't react well either


	3. maybe never, maybe tomorrow, but certainly not today

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When will you love me?
> 
> Or;
> 
> (Weiss remembered the last time she’d spoken to her brother, the last time she’d heard about him. She remembered the moment where he was damning her, could see it in her mind, could still feel and smell and remember everything that had led up to the moment his face screwed up in distaste, when he decided to condemn her to the man who had ruined the both of them in very different ways.
> 
> When Weiss was young, she had a bad habit of looking at her family and thinking:
> 
> When will you love me?
> 
> But no matter how hard she thought the question, no matter how desperately her heart sang for someone to take notice, for someone to truly love her—no one had ever bothered to answer her. It had been a dark mark on her soul, a blemish that she had never been able to heal, a scar much like the one carved into her face. Whitley though, Whitley must have answered that question the second he told her father what she had done. The second he convinced her to run off somewhere only to be taken away, only to be hurt.
> 
> _When will you love me?_ She had breathed, her question heavy on her tongue, unspoken but heard all the same.
> 
> _Not today._ He had said back.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...i came up for a remnant equivalent for french... i couldn't exactly call it something like mistralean because Jaune (my only reference for french in the show) isn't the only one who originates from mistral (pyrrha was from argus, remember?) and according to the fandom wiki most of the settlements seemed named after east asian flowers... so rip, anyway i settled on âme because the continent of anima (where mistral is located) is the latin word for soul, and soul in french is âme according to google translate
> 
> fair warning, kind of a dialogue heavy chapter

Running back to the motel like a scared little girl probably wasn’t one of Weiss Schnee’s finer moments. Admittedly, she could hardly be blamed for what happened, though it had been remarkably naive of her to not expect push back from the people who lived in Patch and knew the implications of her name. She should’ve been prepared for... Blake’s attack. But just because she should have expected it didn’t mean she had to like it. It was a strange experience on Weiss’ part, that wasn’t to say that she had never encountered people like that who despise her on principle, but for some odd reason she just... didn’t think it would happen to her so soon.

(Which, once again, had been very naive of her.)

So, as she sat on top of her bed, headphones on as she desperately tried to get the sounds the couple were making next door out of her mind, she pondered just what exactly she’d expected from this venture. She had been desperate of course, anyone with half an eye could see that, and she’d needed an escape—however temporary it may have been. 

The opera house itself was never meant to... how could she put it? Never meant to be an escape? Never meant to be a place where she ran too when her father inevitably tried to off her in some way or another? It had just been a plan for the future, something she wanted to create no matter how far fetched it may have seemed, no matter how successful it may have been. It had just been something important to her.

The people who had known about her ideas had seemed to have been hung up on those facts. Her sister thought it was childish of her to entertain such silly dreams, but had understood it was something that Weiss used to ‘escape’ day to day life in the manor. Her brother hadn’t wanted to hear much about it after she revealed that she wasn’t doing it just to make money or extend their family name further in the direction of music. Even Klein had been a tad dubious, though he had supported her no matter what he thought, he provided her with advice and people to talk to about her dreams, even if they seemed far fetched to him.

(She really had to find a way to safely contact him, tell him that she was alright... tell him thank you. He deserved more than that for how he had helped her, but it was all she could offer at that moment.)

But that was after she figured out a way to continue forward without angering the people who lived in Patch. 

How would she even do that? She wasn’t exactly the... nicest person, how would she go on about a life here without pissing anyone off? Actually, the question should probably be how _long_ she could go about her life without pissing anyone off. Apparently, a handful of days, considering the whole Blake-wants-to-kill-her thing.

She sighed, fiddling with the collar of her dress shirt. She kind of wished that one of her siblings was there, Whitley with a quip about how bad she looked or Winter with a reprimand for her wrinkled sleeves.

...did she miss her brother and sister?

(Was that even a question worth answering?)

Weiss forced herself to shake off the churning in her stomach, moving to the bathroom and pressing her hands against the sink as she leaned over it—trying not to see the reflection in the mirror. Her eyes skimmed her fists, clenched and pale, and she grimaced when she noticed the still healing bruises over her knuckles. They would be healed up in another couple of days or so, but looking at them reminded her of—

_(—the material was scratchy against her wrists, the smell of salt and dust pervading her nostrils as her lungs shook desperately in an effort to breathe in the stale air that surrounded her—)_

—bad things.

Weiss swallowed the lump in her throat, turning on the water and washing her hands before rinsing off her face. Some of the droplets splashed against her shirt, but she didn’t notice. 

Why was she letting this get to her so badly? It was just _one_ person who didn’t like her, _one_ person who thought she was like her father—why did it even _matter_?

She needed to get out of here.

Resolved, she grabbed a towel and dried off her face, she’d find a place to visit. Maybe her opera house, or the beach. The only problems with those two options was one, she was tired and probably didn’t have enough energy to make it to her building comfortably, and two, the beach was Whitley’s spot, it felt _wrong_ —going there, especially after she’d met Taiyang’s daughter.

Ruby.

Something in her chest squeezed.

She had to get out.

Suddenly it was as though the walls were closing in on her, warped and blurry, wobbling as the sensation of being trapped grew and grew and _grew_ —

Weiss hastily moved out of the bathroom, barely remembering to grab her shoes. Hurriedly shoving them on, she grabbed her bag and rushed out the door, taking a deep breath as the outside air reached her lungs. She started off in a random direction, taking no notice of the slowly setting sun, hoping to find what she was looking for as she moved forward—aimless.

It hit her as she was a good distance away from the motel, where she could go—a relieved smile breaking out on her face, her shoulders relaxing as her movements became less frenzied. 

She’d go to that record store. 

_SEA’S SOUND_

Knowing where she was going made things a bit calmer for her.

Weiss made her way through the downtown area, taking no real notice of the amount of people who swarmed the shops, hoping to find the building with the gold and blue lettering—hoping to find a temporary solace in the music that might swarm her. When she finally made it, a breathless sigh of relief escaped her mouth—once again there was hardly anyone in the store, only a blonde woman talking to the blue haired man on the register. Her eyes landed on a spiky golden head near the end of the store, where the Atleisan music section was, and the urge to smile made her lips quirk up ever so slightly.

Perhaps some company would be beneficial at that moment. 

She slipped inside, barely taking notice of the soft notes of the piano that went off when the door opened. The blue haired man startled, but took notice of her quickly, smirking over at her but quickly turning back to the woman who had been talking to him. 

Weiss was sort of thankful he hadn’t tried to talk to her. 

She made her way to near the back, her eyes flickering from cover to cover. Perhaps she would find something other than Winterreise to listen to in her free time, as much as she loved the opera, it could be rather depressing listening to the sounds of a man losing himself over and over and over again as he mourns for a person who wasn’t quite there for him anymore. 

Sun blinked, making a soft sound of surprise as he met her eyes over one of the counters. A grin began to frame his face as he made his way around it, holding a small stack of CD’s in his hands. “Hey, Weiss! Come to indulge yourself in the wonderful world of opera once again?”

She quirked an eyebrow, tilting her head and crossing her arms while shooting him a thoroughly unimpressed look.

“Okay, so I may have practiced that little line for the next time I saw you.” He pouted. “The least you could do is act like my brilliance was totally awesome and give me a lil clap to pretend how cool it was that I came up with that.”

She rolled her eyes, clapping a little too mockingly than she meant to. 

“Ah, how you hurt me.” He sighed dramatically, pressing a large hand over his bare chest. She noticed his nails were painted blue. “I will never forget the pain you’ve brought me, Snow.” 

“Snow?” Weiss raised an eyebrow, not being able to stop the small smirk that lifted her lips.

“Yup! Cool nickname, right?” Sun’s smile shimmered bright, the rays of his genuine joy making her pause for a moment. When was the last time someone had smiled that happily at her? “I was thinking either that or adding a title at the end of it, like ‘queen’ or ‘princess’ or ‘empress’ or something.” 

“You’ve come up with a nickname for me?” She asked, dumbfounded. “It’s only been two days.” Weiss pointed out hesitantly, teetering on the edge of her heels, as she turned to face the music rack, allowing her fingers to brush along the ridges of each CD case. 

“And?” He leaned his hip on the display case, crossing one of his arms around his chest as he attempted to balance his CD’s with one finger. "I give nicknames to all of my friends—like Neptune over there, he’s Trihard.” He jerked his thumb toward the counter, cursing under his breath when he dropped his music.

The blue haired man, Neptune, turned to look at them as though he was summoned, shooting her a grin and a boyish wink when he caught her looking. 

(Privately, she thought the nickname was more than appropriate.)

Fighting the urge to roll her eyes, Weiss kneeled down, helping Sun with his records.

“I... see.” She mumbled absentmindedly, handing him the cases that she’d picked up. “Well, should I give you one, in the spirit of fairness and all that?”

He grinned at her, a twinkle in his eye. “That would be dope as hell!” They stood up, and for a moment Sun looked almost self conscious. “I mean, you don’t have to, but it would be really cool—and I’m kinda curious as to what you’d come up with.”

She turned back to the CD’s, her eyes paused over another case with her name on it. When was the last time she’d sung to sell things? When she was eighteen, about four years ago—such a long time in the past. Her gaze flickered back to Sun, she couldn’t allow herself to become consumed with the life she used to lead.

“I suppose to give you a proper nickname I’d have to get to know you better.” Weiss stated, a tad haughtily. She hoped he would accept her attempt at cultivating a friendship.

“Ah! ‘Cause it’s all _‘proper’_ and stuff, huh?” He snickered, shooting her a wink. “You know if you want to hang out all you gotta do is say.”

“Hang out...?” She trailed off, frowning for a moment. “That’s like spending time with, correct?”

“Uh, yeah dude, does it not translate well in Old Atlesian or something?” He asked, thinking for a moment. “Hmm... I can’t think of anything informal enough for ‘hang out’...”

“I’ve just never heard the term before, everything I learned about when it comes to other people are from books and operas.” She explained, rolling her eyes. “So it’s like, a way to ask someone if they wanted to spend time together, right?”

“Yeah.” Sun said frowning. ”Dude we have gotta fix that, let’s hang out, like, asap!” He paused, his eyes widening as though he’d realized something. “Oh, um, asap means ‘as soon as possible.’”

“I _know_ what it means.” She shot back incredulously. Weiss was a bit offended, even if she knew that his explanation was entirely warranted. (The only reason she even _knew_ what 'asap' meant was because when she was working for her father's company it tended to show up on a lot of passive aggressive emails.)

“Sorry Snow, just making sure.” He grinned, sheepish and teasing all in one.

“Wait, what do you mean by ‘fix that’ anyway?” Weiss asked, furrowing her brow. “What do you intend to fix?”

“I mean, you just told me that you learned about people from stories—that’s not good bro, we have got to get on about changing that.” He chastised. “You gotta get out into the world and learn through experience, how else are you gonna know yourself? Gonna know what the emotions you feel _are_ , or what the situations you go through _mean_?”

Weiss felt her jaw clench a little, as much as she hated to admit it, he kind of had a _point_. Who was this man, anyway? Who was he to tell her these things? To give her this advice? To spin her worldview?

_(Just Who Is This Man?)_

“Well...” She fidgeted, “I suppose I appreciate the point you’re making.”

“You _‘suppose’_ huh?” His grin was easy, teasing, as though he hadn’t just made her second guess everything about herself. She despised it as much as she loved it, a confliction of emotion that caught her off guard.

_(He Is A Friend.)_

“Yes, I _suppose_.” She snapped back, thoroughly annoyed, trying to hide the beginning traces of fondness beginning to grow in her heart. “There’s nothing inherently wrong with that word, Wukong.”

“Oh totally,” He agreed solemnly, “it’s just that whenever you open your mouth something _super_ dorky seems to come out.”

She gaped at him, spinning on her heel and not bothering with much of any pretense. “Did you just imply that my vocabulary is _dorky_?”

“Nuh uh,” He shook his head, shaggy hair falling into his blue eyes. “I didn’t _imply_ anything.”

“Right.” She narrowed her gaze at him suspiciously. 

“I _said_ that your vocab is dorky.” He winked. “It’s _super_ dorky, _hella_ dorky.”

“ _Wukong_!”

“Oh, don’t take it personal, Snow!” Sun smiled through his rapid giggles. “I’m just teasing a little.”

“Okay.” Weiss sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, fighting off a small smile. She only barely succeeded.

A hesitant expression crossed his face, as though he was considering something that he feared might make her run away. (Which set her one edge immediately.) “Right so, uh, Mr. Xiao Long called me about what happened earlier today.”

“Did he?” She frowned.

“Hey don’t take it the wrong way, he’s just worried about you, ya know?” He puffed out his cheeks, doing his best to look chastising, but failing rather badly. “I heard that Ruby _really_ laid into Blake about what she said to you, the whole _‘Schnee’_ thing, and he had a huge headache defusing the argument.” He explained. “Which is why he couldn’t go out and look for you, so he called me and asked to keep an eye out.”

That Ruby girl had... _argued_ with Blake? 

For her?

(No, that was stupid. She had been friends with Whitley, saying something bad about her just because of her name was just saying something bad about _him_ in association. That girl barely even knew Weiss, the second time she’d seen her what had come out of her mouth was not a name, not even a ‘oh hey you’re that girl from the beach!’ No, what came out of her mouth had been ‘Whitley’s sister’ and that explained exactly what Ruby saw her as.)

Something in her stomach churned.

“She wasn’t wrong to be angry.” Weiss said after a moment, placing a hand over her belly and trying not to look as sick as she felt.

“What do you mean?” Sun asked with a slightly judgemental frown. “You _didn’t_ do anything wrong!”

“Well neither did she!” Weiss snapped back, the words tasting bitter on her tongue. She sighed, taking a deep breath and trying to compose herself. “My family has been the source of a _lot_ of turmoil in Remnant, Wukong. She wasn’t...” Her voice failed her for a moment as she searched for the words. “I _don’t_ appreciate the fact that she tried to run me off, but I’ve faced _much_ worse then angry cash register attendants.”

“Just say cashier.” Sun recommended.

“I’ve faced much worse than angry cashiers.” Weiss decided to indulge him.

Sun’s lips pursed, his expression souring in confusion. “And um... Old man Xiao Long also said something about your dad? Wanted to apologize, I guess...? I dunno, but he sounded pretty torn up about it.” He snorted. “Guess you’re another stray he’s decided to adopt, huh?”

“... _Pardon_?” She raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms and cocking a hip. What did he mean by that, Taiyang (while fatherly) was _not_ trying to _‘adopt’_ her, and she was hardly a _stray_.

“Ugh dude, just say _‘what’_ it’s _so_ much easier on my commoner ears.” Sun groaned, throwing his shoulders back and looking up at the ceiling with an annoyed expression on his face that didn’t look real at all.

“Did you _seriously_ just call yourself a commoner?” She asked, “In comparison to _who_ exactly?” When he shot her a sheepish glance, her expression became incredulous. “ _Me_?”

“Uh, _duh_ ! You’re speaking like you're trying to be some sort of... queen or something, like... all high vocab and shiz.” He ruffled his hair, shoving some out of his eyes only for it to fall back into place a moment later.

She stared at him for a moment, trying to decide if he was serious or not. “Wukong I can’t just _shut off_ certain aspects of my _vocabulary_.”

“Well I mean you could _try_...” A smile was beginning to turn his lips upward.

She blinked for a moment, taking in the strange expression on his face. “Are you... _teasing_ me again?” Weiss could honestly barely even begin to fathom the notion.

“Glad you caught it bro.” He winked. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”

“You are... _impossible_.” She groaned, rubbing at the bottom of her eyes and trying to fight the smile that threatened to crack open her face.

“Aww, I like you too.” He cooed, bringing up his arms under his chin and batting his eyelashes at her.

“I _never_ said that—”

“But you _thought_ it, so it totally counts.” He pointed out, pretending to look serious. “Like, you can’t take it back, Snow—that’s not how it works.”

She rolled her eyes, thoroughly fed up with his shenanigans. “Whatever.”

Sun grinned, and his face seemed to soften out. 

It hit her then that this man may have been her first real friend, someone who talked to her because they had things in common, someone who enjoyed her company without the desire of something they could get out of being friends with someone of her standing.

It was... actually kind of nice.

“Hey, are you hungry? ‘Cause I could totally go for some fries right about now.” Sun waggled his eyebrows, clutching his CD’s to his chest. 

“I...” She allowed a small smile. “I would like that, but first let me pick out something new—”

“Ah, how about this one?” Sun grabbed a CD from his stack, smiling at the cover fondly. “It isn’t in Old Atlesian—but if you don’t understand Âme I can get you a little booklet with all the lines.”

The album had a painted woman in a red dress with her arms thrust into the air, a rose in the midst of being thrown away from her body, it’s petals seeming to escape from her crimson gown, a tidal wave of so much color it looked like a glimpse into an ocean of blood. The name of the album, punctuated with a red rose, was “ _Carmen_.”

“I know enough to get by.” Weiss explained, her carefully taking the CD from him, her fingers brushing upon the red rivets of color that seemed to stain the case. “I’ve tried to learn the languages that most operas were performed in, I’m happy to say I’ve had some success.” She stared at the cover for a moment. “Believe it or not, I’m one of the very few who has never actually listened to this one.”

“I’m super glad that I get to show you this lil babe then.” Sun grinned, “Do you know what it’s about, or are you going to need a quick summary?”

She considered herself for a moment. “I’d like to hear you describe it.”

“Alright, so quick warning about ‘Carmen’ it’s like, Romeo and Juliet type of falling in love, but only if Romeo was probably developed the type of mental health issues that would lead to a restraining order near the end of the play and Juliet was _way_ cooler...” Sun trailed off, thinking for a moment. “Oh, and if their families had nothing to do with it and there was a lot of smuggling involved.” 

Weiss couldn’t help but snort at the way he described it. “Really?”

“Yup! Now let’s hurry to the counter, Neptune and Yang should be done talking by now.” He extended his arm, and Weiss (after a moment of hesitation) linked her own in his.

Unfortunately for the both of them, they found that the blue haired man (Neptune, his name was Neptune) was still in a very deep conversation with the blonde woman (Sun had called her Yang, a name Weiss was sure she’d heard) from before. They seemed to be discussing something heatedly, not exactly an argument, but a passionate debate about the benefits of... pick up lines?

“No, bro I’m tell you—you have got to be _way_ subtler than that, girls don’t like it when you go straight for the innuendo—”

“And I’m telling _you_ that outlandish puns are a part of my _charm_! If I manage to land a date with this girl it’s something she’s gonna have to stomach for the entire time—”

“You have to play the long game sometimes, Yang. That’s how flirting _works_ , you don’t just wink and suddenly she wants to eat you out—I’d be kinda worried if that was how easy she was.”

“Oh _you_ , calling someone easy? That's hilarious Neptune, and if you say something about her like that again and I’ll break your pretty face!”

“I didn’t—”

Sun coughed, clearing his throat loudly. It was quiet suddenly, both of the people in front of them pausing and looking at Sun with matching sheepish expressions on their faces. His face, which had been uncharacteristically serious, melted into something far more easy going. “Yo, what the fuck are you two nerds talking about?”

The woman (Yang) was tall, her arms easily rivaling Sun’s. Her skin was tanned and freckled, her smile as broad as her shoulders, golden hair spilling down them in surprisingly beautiful curls. She resembled Sun almost, with the easy quirk of her lips and the messily styled hair, but her eyes (while similarly shaped) were very different from her friends. They were violet, the color of when the sun began to kiss the ground, brightness mingling with darkness in a cascade of colors—purple like the sky as the stars began to shine.

She was dressed in what looked like a mechanics uniform, a khaki brown lined with orange, Yang Xiao Long stitched into the name tag. 

Oh. This was Taiyang’s other daughter. She remembered that Sun said that someone named ‘Yang’ would be helping with the electricity stuff for her opera house. It appeared as though she also worked as a mechanic.

(When Yang smiled at her, more welcoming than before, Weiss believed that she could see the resemblance.)

Yang grinned at Sun, a tad more confident than before. “I’m trying to woo Madame Belladonna of course! Neptune was trying to give me useless pointers that I didn’t ask for.”

“ _Useless_?!” He scoffed, “Excuse you—”

“Yeah, yeah, can it Vasilias.” Yang rolled her eyes. “You flirt with everything that moves, I don’t need that kind of dude-bro mojo in my life.”

Sun laughed, throwing back his shoulders and jostling Weiss’ smaller body. She shot him a disgruntled glare, one that he seemed to ignore.

“Anyway, who’s this?” Yang asked, turning to face Weiss and shooting her a curious look. “She doesn’t seem like the type to be hanging around the likes of _you_ , Wukong.”

“Rude!” Sun protested through a smile. “This is Weiss, your dad and I are gonna be working for her in a couple of days, remember?”

Yang blinked, turning to look at Weiss with much more scrutiny than before. It wasn’t exactly purposely unnerving, but the woman had no qualms in showing that she was blatantly sizing her up, something that Weiss didn’t even bat an eyelash at. She’d received much worse attention in the bowels of the scummiest pits of the Atlesian Aristocracy. 

“Nice to meet you.” She said once it became apparent Yang wasn’t going to say anything, nodding her head in what she hoped looked like a cordial greeting.

“Same.” Yang smiled, a bit hesitant, but just as radiant as before. 

“Anyway—” Sun began, “Snow here’s gonna buy this dealie.” He put the copy of Carmen on the counter, letting go of Weiss’ arm to lean up to Neptune. “And I am gonna get these dudes.” He shoved his pile of CD’s toward the cash register.

Neptune rolled his eyes. “You better keep them this time, you can’t just keep coming in here to pretend to buy music and then return it when you’re finished.” 

“You can’t prove I do that!” Sun protested.

“You never even try to pretend that you don’t!” Neptune frowned, taking the CD’s and beginning to scan them. “You aren’t even careful, the plastic is always ripped off and the case is _always_ open—”

Sun squawked in objection. “Untrue!”

Weiss felt the corner of her mouth quirk upward, a small tick of her mouth that went unnoticed by all of those around her. It was nice, seeing Sun interacting with other people, it gave her the impression that he was friendly with most that he came across, and the sight soothed the last bit of distrust she’d had for him.

She would do well in his company.

They left the store soon after, with Weiss giving hesitant waves of goodbye to Neptune and Yang, who had gotten right back to arguing about the use of pick up lines.

Spending time with Sun was nice, she’d never had a real friend before, someone entirely out of the reach of her father or family name, and she truly enjoyed the rest of the evening with him. It had been a long day for sure, getting chewed out by a woman she barely knew and running away from the consequences that may have come with her words. 

But one thing was for sure, her day hadn’t ended on nearly as bad a note.

* * *

The next morning is strange. Perhaps it was something in the air, warping and twisting the motel room around her, making every breath she took rattle her ribcage and taste off. She does her best not to let it bother her, going through her morning routine and getting dressed for the day, but there was a constant lingering sense of dread just beyond her thoughts—making her throat squeeze and stomach churn. Weiss wondered if it was just anxiety for what might happen, if Taiyang might call and fear for what he might say, but it felt like more than that—felt like something in the atmosphere had fundamentally shifted into a total state of _wrong_.

She didn’t go out for breakfast, too consumed by the swirling state of emotions that seemed to linger on every surface she touched, freezing them with her anxiety and resentment and that fundamental sense of exhaustion that followed her everywhere nowadays. Weiss spent the first hours of the morning idle, fidgeting and unable to appreciate the rare silence of the couple next door. 

She was quickly finding that staying in her motel room was something of a stress on her mind. 

Weiss swallowed, grabbing her bag and her pea coat, and promptly left her room.

This time, she decided to go to her opera house.

It soothed her the second she laid eyes upon it. 

The breath stuttered in her lungs, and she found herself lost momentarily of the sight of the building that had become _hers_. (And it was hers, no one else's, her family couldn’t lay claim upon it—she’d managed to obtain it all on her _own_.) A soft noise escaped the back of her throat, a whimper of relief.

What would have become of her, if not for this place?

She spent the next hours there uninterrupted, listening to _Winterreise_ once more before switching to _Carmen_. Sun’s summary of the opera was surprisingly appropriate, she thought with a smile, humming along every so often. Unfortunately, her hours of peace were soon ruined by the sound of a car pulling and parking along the gravel road. 

Weiss looked up and was met with an unfamiliar, rather beat up, dark red car. The color made her frown, her eyes narrowing as someone began to get off. 

It was Taiyang’s daughter, the one who she’d met on the beach.

Ruby was dressed in an oversized red hoodie, black jeans that ripped at the knees, and crimson lined combat boots. She stretched as she jumped out of her vehicle, extending her arms above her head and throwing her head back in an effort to extend her neck. When Ruby noticed her sitting on the steps she grinned shyly, ducking her head a little, before looking up again. “Hey!” She greeted cheerfully, making her way toward her and waving a little spasticity. 

Weiss blinked, slipping off the headphones she had been using to listen to her music and barely able to keep herself from out right glaring at her. “Hello.” She greeted, just audible enough for Ruby to hear her.

“Hi, Weiss. I’m uh, I’m Ruby Rose, we... we met before.” She fiddles with the strings of her red hoodie, rocking back and forth on her heels as though the movement would make it easier for the words to come out of her mouth. She was standing just below the first step to the opera house, where Weiss was sitting on the very top one. 

Ruby was still a lot taller than her.

Weiss watched the woman in front of her, eyes narrowing ever so slightly. “Yes, I remember.”

( _Of course_ she remembered Ruby, the young woman who had claimed to be Whitley’s _friend_.)

“I, er...” Ruby swallowed, laughing a little sheepishly and rubbing at the back of her head. “I wanted to apologize.”

The statement that left her mouth was beyond ludicrous. What in Remnant could Ruby possibly be apologizing for? The last time Weiss had seen her hadn’t been particularly stressful because of her part in the interaction, if what Sun had told her was true then apparently she’d rallied on Weiss’ behalf. (Or, more accurately, Whitley’s—because if someone threatened Weiss they’d be threatening him. Well, that’s how it must’ve been in Ruby’s eyes, at least.)

Still, the words that had fled the other woman’s lips had baffled her into stunned silence, Ruby watching with wary eyes, as though she was afraid Weiss would do some sort of drastic act like explode. Honestly, it wasn’t as though Ruby was staring down a lit stick of dynamite, Weiss would have liked at least a little bit of credit.

“And what exactly.” Weiss paused, allowing an awkward moment to pass before asking, “Are you apologizing for?” 

Her voice had come out much softer than she had intended to. It was smoother than before, drizzling from her mouth like honey—the kind of talking that she did when she was trying to convince someone in Atlas to do something for her. How strange of her to lapse into that line of action when only asking a simple question. 

“I don’t exactly remember you doing anything particularly worth any sort of statement depicting remorse.” Ah, that was much better, her voice was back to normal—cold and dry—a single octave away from open disdain.

Ruby blinked, stumbling over her words. “For everything with Blake... and um, for what happened at the beach.” She cringed. “I just... I guess I just wanted to say that I was sorry.”

“Your friend did nothing... _too_ wrong.” Weiss couldn’t quite say that Blake had done nothing to be angry for, she didn’t quite like the fact that the women had seen it fit to compare Weiss to her father. Who she was absolutely nothing like, thank you very much. She’d much rather suffer an eternity of torture than become _anything_ like him. (Though, as much as she hated to admit it, they shared more traits than she would like.) “And why are you apologizing for _those_ two things, it’s not as though there was anything wrong with our... brief interactions.”

Ruby winced. “Still.”

“Honestly Miss Rose, I really don’t see why you’ve decided to come here, if it was to apologize than clearly you have wasted both of our—”

“Whitley never mentioned a sister.” The sentence was out of Ruby’s mouth in a rush, her hastily blurting words striking Weiss so hardly and deeply that for a moment she feared she may actually fall over. “I mean, Oscar and I, we saw him with you once or twice, I think... and another girl too, but he never actually... I mean he didn’t bring you up and I guess I’d forgotten about you until that day at the beach.”

“Yes, well.” Weiss sniffed, averting her gaze. “I hardly see why that’s important.”

“It’s just...” Ruby sighed, running a hand through her hair. It shone red in the light of the morning sun, and Weiss felt something sour grip the back of her throat. “I don’t know... he never _mentioned_ you.” 

She said it as though it was something important, as though there was a meaning there—something loaded, packed with an emotion and definition that Weiss didn’t comprehend. There was something about that statement, something that made melt a little bit, her walls not lowering, not breaking down—but softening, as though instead of the desire to forcefully eject Ruby from the premises, she felt as though there was a need to be gentler here, to be kinder.

(Weiss had never really had the urge to be kind to people when it came to family matters, and the urge for tenderness was something foreign and alien to her.)

“My brother...” Weiss turned her head so she was facing Ruby, looking her in her silvery eyes. “He’s been one to mention things he didn’t see a reason to.” And though the words _should_ sound bitter, should sound angry and annoyed and resentful—they just come out... sort of resolved, the tired sound of her voice ringing throughout the space between them.

“Can... Can I ask how he is?” Ruby asked, clearly unsure how to handle the sudden change in Weiss’ tone and trying to shift the conversation forward. “Oscar, um, Oscar liked him a lot, see—and I know that, uh, Whitley cared about him too—”

“Oh? They were a thing?” Weiss laughed, a bit too coldly if Ruby’s sudden flinch was to be taken into account. “I didn’t know that darling brother of mine had the capacity to fall in love with someone else.” A smile twisted her lips, though it didn’t feel quite right. “Kudos to him, I suppose.”

“I don’t...” Ruby looked on the verge of outright panicking. “I don’t know what—”

“Don’t bother lying, it’s not as though I’m in the position to judge.” She scoffed, dragging a knee up close to her chest and wrapping her arms around it.

“You’re, uh... what?” Ruby blinked for a moment. “Oh, you mean you’re... er.” She fidgeted.

“Shall I spell it out for you?” Weiss asked disdainfully, a low scoff escaping her throat with the words.

“No, I uh, I think I got it, thank you.” Ruby smiled, though it was a painfully embarrassed expression on her face, cheeks set alight. 

Weiss chewed on the inside of her cheek, watching her for a moment, before averting her gaze. She found herself a little more charmed by the look on Ruby’s face then she ought to have been. “You wanted to know about Whitley.” She said softly, burying any amount of fondness that she may have had.

“Right, yes!” Ruby seemed to snap out of her earlier embarrassment, a much more serious look crossing her face. “Yes, I did, is he... is he good? Like, has he been alright? Eating okay? Anything you can tell me I’d really appreciate.”

“I haven’t...” Weiss frowned, why did any of this even matter to her? Why did she have to continue bringing up her _little brother_ every time she spoke to her? “The last time I spoke to him he was... _healthy_.”

“Healthy?”

“Yes.” Weiss rolled her eyes, pressing her chin to her knee and not bothering to hide her annoyance. “Physically healthy, reading a book about something or another—barged into my room to complain about what I was listening to, said it was ‘Old Atlesian trash’ and threatened to throw it out for me if I didn’t keep it down.”

“Did he?” Ruby asked. 

Weiss didn’t appreciate the laughter in her tone.

“Oh you don’t have to sound so amused! Whitley has no sense of music, his nose always stuck in one book or another.” She sneered, glaring down at the stone steps she sat on. She liked books as well as he did, but she just couldn’t understand his utter disdain for most music that didn’t come from his violin. “...that was the last time I spoke to him on amicable terms.”

“Oh.” Ruby didn’t quite frown, but there was something disappointed about the way her mouth curled down. “Did you have an argument?”

(Weiss remembered the last time she’d spoken to her brother, the last time she’d heard about him. She remembered the moment where he was damning her, could see it in her mind, could still feel and smell and remember everything that had led up to the moment his face screwed up in distaste, when he decided to condemn her to the man who had ruined the both of them in very different ways.

When Weiss was young, she had a bad habit of looking at her family and thinking:

_When will you love me?_

But no matter how hard she thought the question, no matter how desperately her heart sang for someone to take notice, for someone to truly love her—no one had ever bothered to answer her. It had been a dark mark on her soul, a blemish that she had never been able to heal, a scar much like the one carved into her face. Whitley though, Whitley must have answered that question the second he told her father what she had done. The second he convinced her to run off somewhere only to be taken away, only to be hurt.

_When will you love me?_ She had breathed, her question heavy on her tongue, unspoken but heard all the same.

_Not today_. He had said back.)

“Something like that, yes.” She swallowed, trying not to allow her emotions to be painted onto her face.

“Do... Do you have his phone number? Or an email address?” Ruby asked curiously.

“...I assume you want to get in contact with him.” She raised a brow, ignoring the churning feeling in her stomach and leaning backward, looking up at Ruby with more than a little disdain.

“Oscar misses him, it’s been—”

“Three years.”

Ruby paused, blinking for a moment. “How did you...?”

“It was the last time we visited this island as a family.” Weiss said, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms. “It’s hardly rocket science.”

Ruby’s lips puckered, her brow furrowed. “Well, it was the last time Oscar saw him and—”

“I don’t mean to be... insensitive, but _why_ exactly does your friend want to talk to my brother?” Weiss asked, the annoyance in her tone as clear as day. “Has it not been three _years_ of radio silence? Why would he want to even bother?”

Ruby grit her teeth, beginning to look very obviously antagonized. “Look, I don’t know what goes on in Oscar’s head half the time but I know that he needs some closure, alright? And—”

“Oh, I see.” Weiss said, interrupting her with little thought. She scoffed, getting to her feet and grabbing her things, carefully putting them away into her bag.

“What?” Ruby asked, and Weiss couldn’t quite make out what emotions were at play in her tone.

She stilled for a moment, running her fingers across her satchel and sighing softly. “My brother broke his heart, didn’t he?”

It was quiet, not a word being spoken. The air tasted strange again, the shift in the atmosphere suddenly more potent, wind blew past her—making her cheeks hurt from the sudden onslaught of cold. Weiss turned to finally face Ruby, raising her eyebrow and waiting impatiently for something to happen. Ruby’s hair danced in the wind, extending toward the spot Weiss stood, a stricken expression on her beautiful face. The faint scent of roses made itself known, and Weiss barely fought the look of surprise that threatened to make its home on her features.

“I...” Ruby visibly swallowed. “That’s not my place to say—”

“It’s a yes or no question Ruby Rose, and it appears as though you just answered ‘yes.’” Weiss smiled, though it was cold, twisted into something different—the barest hints of cruelty making her lips curl the way they did.

“Why... Why are you being so difficult about this?” Ruby asked after a moment, looking awfully frustrated. “I mean, if you don’t want to help then just say so, you don’t have to pull me through this topic like some sort of... some sort of—”

She rolled her eyes, smile dropping and her face going from annoyed to impassive. “I wanted to know _why_ exactly you wanted to talk to my brother so badly, and I was giving you a chance to convince me to help you.”

“You—what?” Ruby blinked.

“Your surprise wounds me.” Weiss deadpanned, making her way down the opera house steps.

“No it’s just...” Ruby shook her head, hurrying to follow. “I didn’t think you’d actually give me a chance to convince you.”

“But... but you decided to try anyway?” She asked, a barely noticeable frown on her face.

“Of course!” Ruby exclaimed. “Oscar’s my _friend_ , and so was Whitley! Even if he was a bit, er... prickly.”

“ _Prickly_?” Weiss asked through a strained laugh. “That’s _certainly_ one word for it.”

“You’re different from him.” Ruby said after a moment.

“I... what?” Weiss turned to look at her, frowning at the pensive look on her face.

“He was kinda mean sure, but it was always... impersonal, like it was super _obvious_ that he didn’t mean it—but his words always sorta hurt anyway, I guess.” Ruby frowned thoughtfully. “You though, you’re much better at pretending to mean it then he was. You’re a better actor, or er—actress, sorry. But your words are subtler, I guess?”

Weiss stared for a moment, examining the woman in front of her before turning away. “I understand.”

“Do you?” Ruby sounded almost relieved.

“Yes.” Weiss sniffed, she _did_ understand.

Her brother had always been a smoother talker then her, his tongue slathered in honey and sweets, but he had never quite got the hang of cruelty like she did—never could press quite like she could. Sure, he was good, but he wasn't _Weiss_ —wasn't the best the type of manipulation she was. He was a flatterer, his words kind and fake, while she was an intimidator, her words cruel and real. Though of course, where his talent lay it was clear that he _should've_ been the more subtle sibling... but he wasn't, that title belonged to Weiss and Weiss alone. Sure, her words cut deep, but they cut deep in a way that you didn't know until much later—unlike Whitley, who had always been a little more dramatic than her.

Weiss sighed, she didn't like thinking about things like this. Sidestepping Ruby, she attempted to move forward.“If you’ll excuse me—”

“Wait, where are you going?” Ruby asked, rushing out so she was in front of her. 

“...I was going to return to the motel.” Weiss said slowly, as though she was speaking to a small child.

Ruby’s face reddened. “Well I get _that_ , I was just wondering why you were walking.”

Weiss raised a brow. “Isn’t that obvious?”

“Er... not really.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m walking because I don’t have a vehicle to take me there.” 

“Oh.” Ruby said, eyes brightening suddenly. “I can take you back.” She suggested. “It’s better than walking, promise!” She moved to her car, opening the door to the passenger seat, “C’mon.”

Which was how she ended up awkwardly nodding along as Ruby rambled about something or another. First it was about music, which Weiss had been able to keep up with, then it devolved into different types of machines or as Ruby had put it ‘super cool tech’, and now it was about... a television show? Some form of media, anyway.

“—I’m just saying that if this dude was actually a cool guy he wouldn’t say stuff like that, I mean... it was terrible!” Ruby shook her head, looking disappointed. 

“Um.” Weiss began. “Right.”

“And like, don’t even get me started on the damsel in distress trope they made the main character go through just to get saved by some dark and brooding mean guy who wouldn’t know kindness if it hit him in the face with a sack of bricks—”

“Miss Rose.” Weiss interrupted softly, turning to face her fully. “I must admit that I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“What, did you _like_ him? I thought you had better taste than—”

“No.” Weiss said. “I just don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh!” Ruby chuckled sheepishly, shooting her a quick apologetic look before returning to the road. “Sorry about that...”

“It’s fine.” Weiss waved off her words. It was quiet then, awkward silence pervading the atmosphere so thickly she thought she might actually begin to choke on it. “I was wondering actually—”

“Yes?” Ruby asked quickly.

“Er... why did you go to the opera house?” She looked at Ruby from the corner of her eye, trying not to frown.

“Ah.” Ruby looked sheepish again, an expression on her face that was rapidly becoming endearing. “I wasn’t lying you know, when I said I wanted to apologize... so I asked Dad where you guys were working and hoped to find you there.” She laughed. “I just got lucky, I guess.”

“I see.” Weiss said, despite not seeing much of anything at all. 

Soon, they arrived at the motel.

“Miss Rose.” She sighed when she got out of the car, leaning into the window slightly. “Thank you for the ride.”

“Oh it’s really no problem—”

“Still.” Weiss interjected. “Thank you.” She averted her gaze for a moment. “I’m... I’m not on the best terms with my younger brother right now, but I can...” She shook her head. “I can give you his work email.”

“Work email?” Ruby asked, frowning. “Isn’t he eighteen?”

Weiss snorted. “Did he tell you much about our family?”

“No...” She looked down. “I honestly didn’t know that he was a part of _those_ Schnees until Blake pointed it out the other day.”

“Yes, well.” Weiss sighed, “I’m sure you’ll learn what I mean soon enough if you manage to convince him to talk to you.” She pulled out her phone, frowning. “Do you have a piece of paper I could write it down on? Or a number I could send it to?”

“Oh, right! Here—” Ruby rambled off her phone number quickly, grinning when the device in her pocket vibrated. 

“Farewell, Miss Rose.” Weiss nodded stiffly, making her way to her door.

“Uh, wait a sec!” Ruby called from the car making her pause. “You know you can call me Ruby, right?”

Weiss turned, sighing. “I suppose.”

“Cool!” She cheered. “It’d be kinda weird if you went about all this ‘Miss Rose’ business while calling my dad by his name.”

“Right.” Weiss swallowed. “Farewell, Ruby.”

Ruby froze, a strange expression on her face. “Um...” She shook it off, cheeks flushing. “Bye, Weiss!”

She nodded, turning back and making her way back to her room, ignoring the sudden burning warmth that rose in her ears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "carmen" is a SUPER well known opera, you've probably heard the song "habanera" once or twice whether u realize it or not... you've definitely at least heard the first couple of seconds,,, so i came up with a tiny history lesson on the whole 'old atlesian' thing, like a history for the language.
> 
> basically, Atlas was super oppressive and had a massive military power back in the day, and they contributed in the great war by trying to conquer everything (blah, blah, racist oppressive nonsense, blah, blah) and when the war was over they switched to a form of english "common" but continued to use "old atlesian" as the language of the aristocracy, mantle in direct retaliation to the people of atlas lording their 'superior' language over them, came up with their own called 'Buntownik' which is the remnant version of polish, 'Buntownik' meaning 'rebel' (according to google translate)
> 
> oh, and btw the fact that ruby was friends with whitley when she was younger is gonna be a big source of weiss' inner turmoil in this fic, if that wasn't obvious


	4. if i abandoned love, i'd be a man without dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Yeah well, it’s my job as an older sister to keep my ittle wittle baby sister on her toes.” Yang smushed Ruby’s cheeks together, making cooing sounds as Ruby frantically tried to escape her.
> 
> Was that how sister’s usually acted? She couldn’t quite imagine Winter doing something like that to her, or herself doing something like that to Whitley. The sight just cemented something that Weiss already knew to be true, the amount of love that it took to properly care for someone else was beyond her—beyond the members of her family. But, if that were true, then why was she so enamored by her opera? Why did Whitley fall into books the way he did? And why was Winter so desperate to remain in the military, to cast away the chains she’d seen in their manor.
> 
> It had to be love, had to be the promise of it, at least. It had to be the desire for it, the soft brush of emotion that threatened to seep deep inside of them, to bleed into their muscles and bones—to swim in their touch starved minds and settle against their hands as though to hold them.
> 
> It had to be love, it could only be love that caused her dream, that drove her to make it a reality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> these chapters just keep getting longer and longer, huh?

There is something to be said about the relationship between Weiss and her sister. Winter Schnee was someone that Weiss would always hold in highest esteem—there was almost nothing that her sister could do that would make Weiss care for her any less. Was there a great deal that Winter could do to make Weiss lose respect for her? Absolutely, but that didn’t change the fact that the fondness she held for Winter was immeasurable. It wasn’t hard to love her sister, but sometimes it was hard to remember why she felt that way—why she was so willing to go to hell and back for Winter.

She’d gotten colder over the years, had retreated further and further inside herself as their father grew more and more dangerous. (Though, to be fair to Winter, she hadn't quite been the only one.) Soon, when it seemed as though she couldn’t withdraw another step, the Atlas military caught her eye. And then her sister was gone, swept away by a new purpose with her back straight and chest out, fully prepared to become a soldier just to escape the confines of what had become their home.

Weiss didn’t know how she never could find herself blaming Winter for that, for leaving her and Whitley—twelve and eight at the time—to face the mercy of their parents by themselves. But Weiss had managed somehow, to stubbornly believe that her sister would always be there for her, in one way or another—and in some ways that was true. A part of her sister (no matter how small, how weak) would always be with Weiss, would always cherish her and love her and want the best for her.

Unfortunately, having “a part” of her sister wasn’t very useful in the time spent desperately trying to avoid angering her father while still longing for a proper rebellion. 

(...was that how Whitley felt about her now? A part of Weiss with him, but useless in the face of the cruelty they often faced? Well, if that was true—if Whitley felt the same way about her that Weiss felt about Winter, he certainly had an odd way of showing it.)

Regardless, the point was that a piece of Winter would always find a way to Weiss, wherever she was—even if that piece was a moderately aggressive phone call at two in the morning that had such bad reception it was almost enough to make Weiss hang up and make Winter call back in the afternoon. 

_“Where are you?”_ Her sister asked, voice badly muffled by the static. The only surprising thing (other than the call itself) was how Winter was speaking in common. 

Weiss blinked wearily, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and resolved herself to trying to sound more awake then she felt. “Does it matter?” She managed to ask, hiding a yawn so Winter wouldn’t know that she’d interrupted her sleep. (It wasn’t as though Weiss was hiding it because she knew her sister would feel guilty, more like she didn’t want Winter to find out at what time she’d been asleep to narrow down the realm of possibility where Weiss might be faster.) “I’m gone, there’s no point in telling you. Besides, you’ll find out soon enough anyway, you always do.”

_“This isn’t something to take lightly, Weiss.”_ She could almost feel the disgruntled expression on her face. _“Your location. Now.”_

“I am _not_ one of your soldiers.” She shot back, a bit of anger bleeding into her tone. Weiss despised when Winter did that, the rage that filled her every time she was treated like some disorderly soldier, as though Winter wasn't actually her sister. “You’ll do well _not_ to address me as one.”

“ _Weiss_.” Winter hissed, though any intimidation she may have felt was torn away by the constant static in the call. 

She took a deep breath, swallowing the urge to just tell her sister everything, to explain what had happened to her—to tell her the events that came before she had left Atlas. But she couldn’t, there was a constant throb in the back of her mind, a constant aching pain that prevented Weiss from doing anything but doing what her sister didn’t want her to do. 

Was that what she had been reduced to? Questioned a cynical voice in the back of her mind. Was every action that she took in regards to her family forever altered into that primal need for defiance? No, she called out into her mind—silencing the traitorous words, her need for defiance did not stem inside of her because of her desire for rebellion, but her need for happiness—to be and find and create something that would make her more joyous than anything her family could ever offer her.

(Even if it was an apology.)

“No, Winter.” She said, almost too quiet for her sister to easily hear.

“ _What do you mean no?_ ” The sound of her voice was more than incredulous, “ _You ran away from home! If you don’t wish to return to the manor, then fine, but you absolutely must cease these silly games and tell me where you are! Whitley said that you left—_ ”

“Did he?” Weiss spat, her exhaustion contributing to the looseness of her lips. “Well _that’s_ rich.” She regretted the words as soon as they came out, and could feel her growing dread as her older sister went silent, the only sound the slowly steadying static escaping from her mobile phone.

“ _What do you mean?_ ” Winter asked, and it had been so very long since the last time that Weiss had heard her sound so soft. “ _Tell me where you are, let me come and find you._ ”

There was something about the last part of that sentence, something that struck Weiss harder then she was sure Winter had meant to. _Let me come and find you._ She wanted to, in that moment, wanted her sister there with her so much it became hard to breathe, her lungs tripping over themselves in an effort to recapture the oxygen that she’d lost. Weiss knew then that she would share every bit of the happiness that she would find with her sister if Winter wanted it, she would sacrifice bit by bit until her sister was there with her—until she wasn’t so obviously lonely.

But then the second passed, and Weiss knew that any potential that Winter had for happiness here wasn’t enough to take a risk on.

(No matter how tempting it may have been to have her sister near her.)

“It isn’t that hard to figure it out.” Weiss laughed, rubbing at her tired eyes.

Winter went quiet again, and the pressure on Weiss’ shoulders seemed to increase with each moment that passed with her sister not speaking. “ _Whitley also said that father had... opted to teach you some kind of lesson. He didn’t know what._ ”

Weiss felt indignation rise up inside of her like a storm, thundering and loud and far too violent to stay sitting in. Whitley didn't know what their father had done? _Whitley_? “I somehow find that hard to believe.” She nearly spat the words, that bone shattering rage dripping from her lips like a mudslide—quick and dangerous, slathering everything in front of her with the type of anger that only came with the vicious desire to destroy. The idea that her brother didn't know what he had subjected her to was hit out of left field, there was no way that he couldn't have known, no way at all.

“ _Weiss—_ ”

“No, Winter.” She interrupted, her shoulders were shaking, her fingers twitching over her phone as she did her best not to let it slip from her hand. “I _won’t_ be going back, I’ll be _here_ —this place, for as long as I possibly can be.”

“ _Please, I..._ ” Winter cut herself off, and when Weiss pressed her ear closer to the phone she could have sworn she heard the soft shuddering breaths that came when a person was near tears. “ _I’m concerned, and afraid—Weiss, what happened?_ ”

Winter, _afraid_? The world must have been ending.

(And maybe it was, because Weiss had finally left her father behind to forge a name for herself in something that she loved, to reclaim a small part of her heritage and make it her own—not to be cast out by a man who’d stolen the wealth out from under her mother and grandfather. So, in a way, the world where Weiss would sit in the manor—her acts of rebellion so much more intricate and very dangerous—that world was over, was _done_ with.)

Weiss steeled herself, taking a moment to gather her thoughts and think on what to say to her sister. “Father discovered something I’d done.” She spoke slowly, her words deceptively gentle. “He reacted accordingly.” If accordingly was having her kidnapped and taught a lesson, that is.

“ _Will you give me no more information?_ ” Winter asked, the sound of frustration seeming to rip itself from her mouth, accidental and angry.

“I can’t.” Weiss said simply, swallowing the bile that rose in her throat. 

“ _And why is that?_ ”

Her hands trembled. “Because I know how high you hold the value of dreams.”

Winter seemed to think that everything she had done, everything she had planned to get to that point was a distraction, something to tide her over until she decided what she _really_ wanted to do with her life. Weiss could forgive Winter for _anything_ if she could forgive her for leaving, and could forgive her for everything. Everything except the dismissal of what she wanted, except the rejection of her dream. 

“ _...You’re on that island, aren’t you?_ ” Winter asked, and her question was a bigger punch in the gut harder than Weiss had expected.

_Since when could Winter piece things together? Since when did she start paying attention?_

“I don’t—”

“ _Oh you give me far too little credit._ ” Winter sniped back, and her voice set Weiss’ teeth on edge. “ _I know your dreams, little sister, as well as I know my own—as well as I know that they have no merit, that you’re better of ridding yourself of them as I did_.” And wasn’t that the most depressing thing that she had ever heard? Where was Winter even going with this? Why would she use her rare gift of understanding as a way to convince Weiss to make it so she would stop what she was doing? “ _You’re on that island, doing who knows what, in hiding from father._ ”

And then it struck her that Winter didn't understand at all, because if she did she would've never claimed that Weiss was in hiding.

“I won’t go back.” Weiss said simply, trying to hide the tremble in her voice. “You can’t make me.”

“ _You’ve never run from him, from our name, you’ve never fled something before._ ” Winter paused, and her voice went thoughtful. “ _I wonder how bad it had to have been for you to finally abscond._ ”

“Am I running?” Weiss asked her quietly, staring out into the darkness of her motel room. She slowly allowed herself to lay back down on her pillow, looking straight up at the ceiling and holding the phone a little closer to the side of her face. She closed her eyes, and hoped that the vulnerability in her tone wasn’t so easily picked up on. “I didn’t know that.”

“ _Oh, is that so_?” Winter would almost sound amused, if not for the clear sound of disdain still so readily apparent in her voice. “ _Then what did you think you were doing, if that hadn’t come to mind?_ ”

“Forging something, turning a dream into reality...” She trailed off, and knew then that the wistfulness she spoke with would do nothing to convince Winter to favor her decisions. Suddenly, Weiss was resolved—if her sister would not support her, if she would not believe her, then Weiss would simply have to accept it, would have to get over it. It would not do to dwell over the issue, should it present itself.

“ _Dreams are of little value._ ” Winter said, though the words were almost robotic, as though she had spent many times in her life trying to convince herself of this. The sentence seemed to come from her mouth automatically, as though someone had reached inside her brain and placed this thought there, seared it into her mind—in imprint or tattoo from someone who’d never truly cared for her. Weiss wished sometimes that Winter didn’t take the militaries word as gospel, that she didn’t turn to the people of Atlas’ corrupt power for guidance. But there was little that Weiss could do that would change her sister’s mind after such a long period of time with them.

“Have you abandoned them?” She asked her quietly, opening her eyes again to see nothing in the still darkness of her room. “Your dreams, I mean?”

“ _As you have abandoned love._ ” Winter shot back, snide. 

Weiss almost laughed out loud, it was very out of character for Winter to say something like that. A bit of guilt bubbled up in her chest, she must’ve been really worried.

“That’s where you’re wrong.” Weiss told her quietly, “Without that... _emotion_ , I’d have none of what makes this so important to me—I _love_ my music, my opera, and it will always be more than enough for a dream or two.” Maybe that would be enough to convince Winter that she was genuine, that there was no going back for her here.

“ _Weiss_...” Winter said her name so vulnerably, a crack in her rapidly shattering mask. “ _I don’t want to see you back here, I wouldn’t be able to bear it—the look on your face if everything were to go wrong_.”

“Worry not, Winter.” Weiss said, allowing herself a sad smile. It seemed as though even if she would never have her sister’s full support, she would also never have her entire disapproval. “I have no intention of returning to Atlas anytime soon.”

A silence.

“ _Are you not going to ask for our brother_?” Winter asked, almost hesitant. She was always like that when it came to Whitley, anything about him—but her voice was tinged with something different then usual, as though she sensed something unruly between Weiss and Whitley. 

“No.” 

“ _And why is that_?” Winter’s question was still partly obscured by the static of the call, but it had slowly but surely getting more and more clear.

_Because he is the reason I hurt._

“That is none of your concern.” Her voice was cold and hard, no ounce of wistfulness or warmth from before remained. She would not speak of him, not in that moment, and certainly not with Winter. If Weiss told her what happened, she’d only grow angry at him and their father, and there was no point in getting her sister worked up for someone she’d probably never see again.

“ _Weiss_.” Winter scolded.

“Don’t take that tone with me.” She hissed back, she could barely stand it—the sound of pity and disapproval so prevalent in her older sister’s voice.

“ _I’ve noticed that Whitley is very worried—_ ”

“I cannot, and will not forgive him.” Weiss snapped back, interrupting Winter before she could finish speaking. “I...” She took that moment to take a deep breath, to seize control on the emotions that seemed adamant on spiraling out of control. “I won’t be able to, it’s impossible for me to look upon him with anything but severe sadness and bitterness—to approach anything that has to do with him with anything but avoidance and wariness.” 

“ _...won’t you tell me what happened_?” Winter asked softly, her voice surprisingly hesitant. It was almost as though she’d decided to be _softer_ than she was before, as though Weiss was _worth_ being soft for.

“Maybe never, maybe tomorrow.” A cold smile. “But certainly not today.” And then, like the over dramatic person she was, she promptly ended the phone call. 

Weiss was suddenly very aware of the numb stinging of her eyes, the burn in them like lava seeping from the cracks in her eyelids. She had always been accustomed to loneliness, she was no stranger to isolation—but this brand of sour solitude seemed different than before. Like a rancid smell, spoiled or burning—a blight on the senses. She wished so very much that her sister would want her in return, and would care for her in such a way that had been accustomed to Weiss.

But it wasn’t worth hoping for, after all, a sister just didn’t act like that—no matter how much they may have wanted to.

When she returned to sleep, she dreamt of her younger brother. He was sitting in the library, thumbing through a book, his face much younger looking then she remembered it being. She dreamt of him talking to her, just going on and on about something or another—she dreamt of him smiling, of a slightly cynical laugh escaping his lips with every dry comment she made. It couldn’t have been real, the curve of mouth unnatural, the glittering in his eyes like diamonds reflecting back sunlight. 

He looked so alien, and it took only a moment for her to realize that this was the most genuine she’d ever seen her brother, and it was a situation that didn’t happen—a dream that didn’t exist, a memory she had that never happened.

_This is isn’t real, this isn’t real, this isn’t—_

And yet, she couldn’t help but think, it _could’ve_ been.

Her brother had had friends, hadn’t he? He’d had people that he could apparently come to, could talk to, could even come to _love_. So why was she so different? What had she done wrong? She’d tried her best, hadn’t she? She’d tried to protect him and give him all the love she could spare from her wretched little heart, and that wasn’t enough? Did he not know how high she held him before this? Did he not know how much of her decisions held him in mind?

(No. She knew. No he didn’t know.)

When she awoke, she didn’t know if the day was going to improve. There was something in the air, something that made everything that she did or started to do taste like static. Almost as though every action made was just a placeholder for something else to begin. It made everything sour, every thought stale and fake—her head swimming as her emotions swirled in turmoil. She managed to make her way out of the hotel room, but she didn’t make it very far, sitting outside near the bus stop and trying her best to lash out and smash something.

(Weiss wasn’t usually someone who hit things when she was angry, but her hands seemed to shake with wasted energy—longing for something to slam themselves against, to express herself somehow. They weren’t so content to be used for nothing, weren’t so happy that Weiss refused to give them something to hurt.)

“Hey, Snow!” A voice greeted from up above her, and heaven itself might as well have been in his smile. A bit of irrational fear rose up in her chest, she didn’t want to snap at him. It was always nice to see Sun, but she didn’t have much patience for anything today, and she didn’t want to unfairly lash out at him just because she couldn’t control herself.

He appeared to be in workout gear, his shirt gone, running shorts, and sneakers with earbuds wrapped around his ears that made him look almost dorky. He wasn’t quite drenched in sweat yet, meaning that she’d caught him in the beginnings of his work out, but he still seemed to glitter in the late morning sunlight. 

Sometimes, she thought with a wrinkled nose, she really wished he’d put on a shirt.

“Wukong.” Weiss greeted, trying not to look as sour as she felt. She tried for a tiny smile, but it came out as more of a grimace.

“Wow, you don’t look too good.” He frowned, noticing the bruises under her eyes immediately and slipping into the seat beside her. Sun spun himself to face her body, drawing his knees up to his chest, a worried expression seeping through onto his face. “Did you sleep alright?”

She watched him a moment, before looking away with a lethargic sigh. “Not really, no.”

“That’s not good, bro...” He trailed off, his concern more prevalent than before.

A huff escaped her mouth. “It’s not _my_ fault, I got a call that interrupted my sleep.” Weiss didn’t quite pout, but when she turned to look back at Sun her lips quirked outwards. She yawned, using her hand to muffle the sound and shooting him a drowsy look.

“Wow, that sucks, dude.” He said with a frown, crossing his arms around his chest. “I was going to invite you to the bonfire.”

“The bonfire?” She asked tiredly.

“Yeah!” Sun beamed at her, his tail swishing back and forth in excitement. “Everyone’s gonna be there, I thought it would be fun!” He pouted, reigning in his enthusiasm for a moment and clearing his throat. “But only if you want to... I know you’re tired.”

“I don’t know.” Weiss said softly, rubbing at the area under her eyes. “Are you sure it’s a good idea?”

He watched her for a moment, the blue of his irises filled with a strange sort of spark, as though he was seeing something that she was not. “It wouldn’t be so bad if you came, you know.” Sun said, tilting his head so that some of his blonde hair fell into his sweaty forehead. “Really.”

“Oh?” Weiss didn’t take her eyes off of him. “And why do you think that?” 

“Well, I mean other than Old Man Xiao Long wants you to come and go over the plans again?” He smiled, slightly teasing. So Taiyang wanted to talk to her still... she was a little surprised. Sun’s eyes glittered, and Weiss thought that perhaps his words were the slightest bit calculated. “Maybe being a little more social could be good for you.” He added.

“Good for me?” She asked with a raised brow.

“Yeah, dude.” He laughed. “Good for you.”

“I don’t know about that, Wukong.” Weiss sighed, watching his expression warily. “Besides, I can hardly see why Taiyang would want me to bring professional items to a distinctly _non-professional_ occasion.” It was common sense, wasn’t it? She didn’t have much experience with other people in a casual environment, but she knew that in a work environment certain things were prohibited, it only made sense that a casual one was the same.

“Weiss, c’mon, don’t you think it’ll be fun?” Sun prompted with an even tone, his tail betraying his excitement as it swished back and forth behind him. “You can meet all my friends, and maybe introduce you to the people who are going to be working for you pretty soon—it could be like...” He paused for a moment, frowning. “What’s it called?”

“A meet and greet?” Weiss suggested tiredly. “A networking event?”

“One of those, yeah!” He grinned, hopping up and down in his seat while wiggling his eyebrows. “You can take a nap and I’ll come pick you up at four or five in the afternoon!”

Resolved, and not wanting to see his expression falter, she reluctantly agreed. Sun helped her back into her room, giving her a high five before jogging off—returning to his workout. Weiss found herself falling back into her bed, ignoring the odd lumps and springs, she was exhausted without ever having even _done_ anything. 

She hated the feeling, hated that shroud of weariness that seemed to encase her in every waking moment. It was so very _heavy_ , a great burden on her already weak shoulders—sapping any strength she had to move. It was almost as though every second she spent awake was another trapped under a mysterious weight, pushing down on her over and over and over again—the pressure of her life bringing her to her knees. No matter how desperately she seemed to fight, no matter how hard she tried to stand back up—to lift the great load from her shoulders, it slapped back against her. It slipped from her fatigued finger tips, knocking heavily into her shoulders and bringing her down all over again.

Weiss tried to close her eyes, to allow her body to settle into the brief comfort that the mattress was allowing her, but it felt as though it was no use. She was pinned down by her own thoughts and desires, caged in the exhaustion that came with her trauma, and she couldn’t seem to find a way out.

She managed to slip into sleep, the last thought she had the hope that she wouldn’t dream of the issues that plagued her.

* * *

Sun had insisted on her wearing a different jacket than her peacoat, he had claimed that it was going to be cold—but the article of clothing that she had been going to wear would be uncomfortable on the beach. Before she could even begin to protest, he’d shoved into her hands an old hoodie that he kept in the trunk of his car. It was ‘for emergencies’ he said.

Weiss was only thankful that it didn’t look or smell too bad.

The afternoon had been alright so far, with Weiss quietly talking to Sun or whoever he brought over for her to meet. He seemed to pick up on her mood, and was careful to bring over friends he knew wouldn’t mind talking softly or sitting in comfortable silence. Weiss was thankful for that, as much as Sun seemed to be growing on her, he was more than excitable for the both of them.

Sun had rushed off, in the search of ‘Neptune’ who Weiss had recognized as the cashier at the music store that they frequented. She was content with him gone, it was easy—being near him, almost easier than breathing. Weiss wondered why, surely if they had met at an earlier point in her life they wouldn’t have got on as well as they did now. Whatever the reason was, she knew that Sun Wukong had the potential to be a staple in her life, if she let him.

Now, the only question was if she’d allow it or not.

While she was pondering this, weighing the pros and cons of continuing to befriend him, she was silently approached by a figure she hadn’t realized was there. Weiss looked up, blinking in surprise for a moment, before pursing her lips and bracing herself.

“I wanted to apologize.” Blake sighed, looking down at her shoes and crossing her arms around her chest. She looked almost painfully awkward, and it almost made Weiss do a visible double take. It was a strange sight considering the last time she had seen Blake she was full of such a fiery passion that if she were a lesser person she would have been more than a little intimidated. “I was out of line.”

“Oh?” Weiss asked, her brow furrowing. She didn’t quite know what had brought this on, and she wasn’t quite sure she wanted to. Fidgeting, she gestured to the log next to her, hoping that Blake might take the cue to sit down.

She obeyed, crossing her ankles and not quite allowing her feet to touch the sand. “Yes.” Blake let out another deep breath, gathering herself and closing her eyes, before looking up to face her. “Your family has caused many problems in my life, and the lives of some of my closest friends.” She blinked her eyes open, looking so very serious. “The Schnee name may be centered in Atlas, but all of Remnant feels it’s chill.”

Weiss stared at her, she’d known Blake would say something like that, and yet she couldn’t help but feel caught off guard. “Yes, well.” She fought the urge to swallow her words, and tried to look as earnest as possible. “I’m not my father.”

“...aren’t you?” Blake looked worried now, as though she feared what Weiss might say in response. “Aren’t you just your father in another mask?”

“You seem confused and genuine so I’ll give that insult a pass.” She snarked back, placing her hands on her hips. Weiss had to look up at Blake, which made it hard to be as intimidating as usual, but she persisted with a badly hidden sneer. “Don’t make the same mistake again, next time I might not be so forgiving.”

“Oh?” Blake paused, and one of her ears twitched. She was beginning to look almost amused. The atmosphere was rapidly changing from hostile to calm, and she couldn’t help but begin to wonder if that was because of Blake or herself. 

“Why are you apologizing to me, anyway?” Weiss asked, trying not to sound as put out as she was. “It’s not as though you seem to actually _want_ to.” 

“It isn’t that.” Blake looked at her, and her eyes seemed to almost glow in the gentle light of the bonfire. But it was the gentle start of the sunset that seemed to make her the most radiant. The yellows and oranges danced on her skin, a vibrant eye catching sight that further affirmed for Weiss that there was something about the people on the island that made common things all the more beautiful. “Your family has been... _more_ than a little cruel to people in my position.”

“I understand.” Weiss murmured softly.

“Do you? Do you really?” Blake was frowning now, and something in the way she asked her questions made Weiss pause, made it so that she would not grow angry. 

“Honestly?” Weiss rubbed at her chin with her knuckles, trying not to seem as though she was giving Blake’s query little thought. “Perhaps I can never truly comprehend what you’ve gone through, what the faunus that my father used our name to hurt have gone through, but I do try—I try my absolute best.”

“Sometimes that isn’t good enough.” Blake said.

“Yes.”

“Sometimes your words can be patronizing.” Blake said, slower this time.

“Yes.” Weiss winced. “I’m sorry.”

“You are, aren’t you?” She sighed, recrossing her arms and slumping her shoulders a little bit. There was a far more relaxed look on her face than before, but that weariness that had been present throughout their conversation did not fade an ounce. Weiss wondered if that was just how she looked, not scared exactly, but cautious—ready to jump away from whoever was near her just in case they ever decided to take a swipe at her.

She understood then that she had a lot more in common with Blake then she had realized. Weiss didn’t quite know how she felt about that.

“Yes.” She affirmed quietly. “I am.”

"Well." Blake said, a sad look on her face. "So am I."

They sat there in silence for a moment, before her companion sighed out loud and turned to her, as though she wished to continue the conversation.

“So if you aren’t here to start a coal mine and enslave the poor poor people of Patch, then what are you here for?” Blake’s lips quirked upward. Her words were almost phrased as a joke, and despite herself Weiss felt her lips begin to curve into a hesitant smile—as though the sound of Blake’s badly timed (and almost awkward in nature) words worked as lift, tugging her mouth in something that had long since been classified as alien.

There was no point in keeping it a secret, Weiss resolved herself with a gentle smile, small but there all the same. “To build an opera house.” 

Blake watched her, and if she was surprised by anything that had just occurred she did not show it, only allowing her expression to mirror Weiss’ own. “Is that so?” She asked after a moment, tilting her head and pursing her lips thoughtfully. “Admirable, I think.”

“And why is that?” Weiss’ mouth smoothed out from it’s previous smile, her face not quite a frown but something quite close.

“It’s always impressive when someone pursues a dream, I think.” Blake explained, recrossing her arms and leaning back.

Something in Weiss’ chest stuttered. “Who said anything about a dream?”

“I have a knack for knowing about dreams.” Blake said with a (once again, kind of awkward) wink.

“Oh?” Weiss snorted. “And what’s my dream, exactly?”

“You just said it.” Blake said, raising an exasperated eyebrow. “To build an opera house.” 

They were interrupted by a gentle clearing of someone’s throat, the interjection just enough for both Blake and Weiss to jump in fright, the strange tension easily broken. They turned to find the warm smiles of Ruby and her older sister. Weiss’ eyes narrowed distrustfully, and by reflex she found her face slackening into something far more expressionless than before. 

“So you guys are getting along now, right?” Ruby asked hopefully, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. Yang rolled her eyes at that, dropping into the sand and tugging her sister beside her with fond amusement. 

“Just fine.” Blake mumbled quietly, watching the two with a particular kind of wariness that came with not wanting to be a disappointment. (Weiss knew that look quite well, after all, one does have to look into a mirror from time to time.)

“Cool!” Ruby exclaimed in relief, “We can’t all be friends if you guys aren’t nice to each other.”

“Friends?” Weiss asked quietly, raising a brow and crossing her arms around her chest. She hadn’t quite meant to say it out loud, but everyone had heard her. She turned her head to look into Ruby’s eyes, the motion lethargic and largely disinterested. Though, the effect was toned down a little in Sun’s red and yellow ‘monkeying around’ hoodie. (Apparently, it was specially made, and he took great pride in it.)

Ruby watched her for a moment, the atmosphere suddenly loaded. She smiled (hesitant, unsure) and nodded. “Yeah.” Her voice was soft. “Friends.”

“You can never have enough of those.” Yang said with a grin, shattering the strange moment with all the grace of a bull in a china shop. She wiggled her eyebrows, winking. “Ice Queen.”

“I don’t know you.” Weiss stated flatly, looking back into the fire with her arms crossed tighter than before. Her fingers gripped the soft material of her sweatshirt tight.

“But our introduction to each other was so rich and full of life!” Yang protested, only sounding like she was half joking. 

“I only said one thing to you.” She deadpanned. 

“What? C’mon it couldn’t have actually been—” Yang trailed off, thinking for a moment. “You know what? Now that I think about it you might have a point, you sorta just stuck to Sun and looked like you’d hope Neptune and I would go away...”

“Shush Yang.” Ruby said, rolling her eyes before turning back to Weiss. Her eyes shone like mirrors, and Weiss felt herself flinch away from them on instinct. “Dad says he wanted to talk to you...” She trailed off, looking awkward and sheepish. “So...”

“Right.” Weiss sighed, grimacing. She wasn’t looking forward to it, it was one thing to talk to Taiyang before—where the existence of the reason behind her fading bruises had been a joke, but now it was reality. One that she’d really rather no one ever learn. Not to mention the fact that he was so warm, it was off putting and upsetting—she had no experience with someone like this, not besides Klien. 

“You’ll get used to it.” Blake uttered knowingly, her eyes shining in understanding. She didn’t like that she seemed to get a read on her so easily, but Blake seemed to understand that too, if her getting up to leave was any indication. “Sorry again about before." She said sincerely, thinking for a moment. "This was... enlightening.”

“That’s certainly one word for it.” Weiss’ tone dripped with something close to disdain. Though it sounded more sarcastic than she’d meant it to, and a great deal louder. 

“Funny.” Blake said, sending her a surprised smile. “Get at it, Schnee.” 

“Somehow, I found myself despising you more than before.” But her mouth had twitched upward just enough for Blake to see it, and there was no mistaking the lack of blatant hostility in her tone. 

“Same.” She nodded, before slinking off into the shadows of the great bonfire and settling next to a couple Weiss didn’t recognize.

“Ugh.” Yang said, groaning into the palms of her hands. “I can’t believe _you_ already get along with her better than I do.” Her words came out muffled, her prosthetic arm shining in the weakening sunlight. “Didn’t she like, hate you just a couple hours ago? _Ugh_...”

“That was getting along?” Ruby asked, looking half perplexed, half horrified. “I mean, should I be saying stuff like that to Blake?” The worry in her voice was beyond easy to pick up on. “Oh my gosh Yang, what if we aren’t actually friends and I’ve been making her uncomfortable?”

“You’re fine, Rabies.” Yang waved her off, one of her hands still covering her face.

The horror on Ruby’s face didn’t quite fade at that. “Please, for the love of all that’s holy, Yang _please_ don’t call me ‘Rabies’ again I swear I’ll do _anything_.”

“Okay...” Yang sighed, looking back down at her sister. Her pause stretched on for an uncomfortably long time. “Rabies.”

“Yang, _no_.”

“I think I’ll go now.” Weiss noted quietly, grabbing her satchel and shoes before slipping away from the sisters. They began to bicker, her lack of presence going unnoticed. She frowned down at the sand as she walked away, trying to process the things she had just witnessed.

On one hand, she’d just had the strangest conversation with a woman whose first introduction to Weiss had been less than stellar, and then she had to deal with the oddness that was Yang and Ruby getting along. Or at least, she _thought_ that they were getting along, she admittedly didn’t have much of a ‘normal’ sibling relationship with Winter or Whitley. For all she knew, that was them passively aggressively trying to get one over on each other.

She decided to settle near the shore of the beach, rolling up her pant legs and stepping into the gently lapping waves, watching as the water pooled at her ankles. Weiss sighed, looking up—something in her chest throb when she noticed the small amount of night bleeding into the late afternoon sky. The soft purple bleeding into orange and yellow, the sun going down as blue made everything darker. An errant thought ran through her mind, and she couldn’t help but wonder if Whitley had ever been in her exact spot, staring up at the sky with a similar fascination on his face. 

It painted a romantic picture, even if Weiss knew for a fact it probably wasn’t true. Still though, she couldn’t help but smile at the image in her mind, she wondered what it would be like with her siblings beside her—all of them happy in one way or another, and fought the urge to begin to weep.

The soft sounds of footsteps on the sand interrupted her thoughts, and she was silently thankful for the chance to escape the fantasy’s that she had trapped herself in. 

That was, until he opened his mouth.

“So, your dad, huh?” A voice she recognized as Taiyang asked. 

Weiss had been dreading this. It wasn’t like she didn’t know she couldn’t keep it a secret for long, but she’d found herself wishing that he wouldn’t learn what had happened to her—that she could keep her family life private with the wave of a hand or the subtle diversion of topics. It would have given her some time at least, to come to terms with what had happened, to process everything and become a stronger person. But she couldn’t do that now that the cat was out of the bag, now that no doubt the entire island knew who exactly was renovating that old opera house.

All of sudden, seemingly out of nowhere, she felt a deep and profound hate for the one who’d let the secret slip. It was irrational, that fiery passion that came from using energy to dislike someone so strongly it set her weary bones aflame. She basked in it for a moment, in that second it took to hate someone. She basked in that want for pain and sorrow in another being that she used to be more than intimate with—but in the next instant that passed it was washed away from far too easily for her to be comfortable with. Perhaps it was because Blake had apologized, had seemed so earnest in her words, or perhaps it was because Weiss simply no longer had the energy inside of her to muster up the strength to hate.

“I don’t see how he’s important.” Weiss murmured, turning away from him and trying to soothe her suddenly freezing body. Had it been so long since she’d been in the presence of that type of loathing, a searing heat that came with a certain type of comfort, that the moment her weariness took over she felt chilled to the bone?

How so very strange.

She felt Taiyang’s eyes on her for only a moment longer. “Well,” He began, “if you don’t see it, then chances are he probably ain’t.”

“I—yes, exactly.” Weiss blinked, trying and failing not to sound shocked. It was quiet again. She expected to feel relieved, to feel some sort of happiness in his willingness to drop the topic for her. But all she felt was... nothingness, a startling expanse of emptiness that pulled in her chest and settled throughout her body. Was she so exhausted, so depleted of any amount of care for this situation, that she could not even muster up an ounce of emotion other than surprise?

“Hey, kiddo?” Taiyang continued after a moment, seemingly oblivious to her inner turmoil. “You know you don’t have to keep this type of stuff a secret from me, you seem like a good young woman, ya know?” His voice grew softer, and she turned to face him, quietly holding his gaze. There it was again, that strange earnest tinge to his expression that seemed to bleed into the faces of those she’d met on the island so far. “I’m not going to up and quit because your old man’s some type of James Bond supervillain.”

“Thank you, I suppose.” She uttered, voice not quite breathless, but a sigh of escaping her words alongside her mouth anyway. Patch was... so different, _why was it so different?_

“No prob.” Taiyang grinned, a broad, friendly thing that had Weiss feeling conflicted and wary. “Now, how about we get to finalyzing those plans of yours?” He rubbed his hands together, clapping them in excitement. “Sun told you to bring them, didn’t he?”

“Yes.” She agreed softly, reaching into her satchel and pulling out the binder she’d put everything in. Weiss felt as though she was giving him a part of her soul when she handed it to him, and the innate _wrongness_ of him holding her dream in his hands struck her as more than a little strange. “That’s everything.”

There was just enough sunlight left for him to examine the plans that she had given him. He thumbed through the pages, his brow furrowing as he took in everything she had. She understood his sudden wariness, he hadn’t had a chance to look at all the plans in detail when they had been together last. (Though she couldn’t quite understand why he wanted her to bring her things _here_ , a bonfire of all things.)

“You realize how long a project like this will take?” Taiyang asked, his expression smoothing out. It was a good mask, and if Weiss was any less observant she might not have seen the slight crease under his eyes and around his mouth. 

He was frustrated by something, or concerned. 

Weiss couldn’t allow that.

“A long time.” She nodded her head, keeping his gaze. 

“Pfft, yeah.” He grinned a little, rolling his shoulders. “I don’t mean any disrespect to you, but from a professional standpoint, I need to know if you understand how big of an undertaking this is.” Taiyang’s face grew serious, and she couldn’t help but think of that tattoo she’d seen on his shoulder the other day. She made a note to ask if he had served. “It’ll take maybe two years—we have a good foundation, seeing as it was meant to be used for this type of project, but the amount of _money_ needed for such a big undertaking is insane—”

“I assure you,” Weiss interrupted him quietly. “Money is no object.” Her voice was deceptively gentle, but Taiyang easily caught wind of the steel that lay underneath her words.

He watched her, and for the first time the flicker of worry in his eyes wasn’t in concern of Weiss. She wondered what he saw, wondered what look in her eyes or face was enough to make him falter in his (so far) unfaltering belief in her. “You’re sure?” He uttered quietly, and she noticed a particular hardness around his eyes that wasn’t there before. 

“I’m sure.” She affirmed, something cold slithering down around her neck and down her spine. Weiss wanted to believe that Taiyang would trust her, would understand her enough to not question her judgement—but she knew that somewhere deep down inside of him was telling him not to take her word for it. “My father has nothing to do with the money I have, if that was your concern.” 

The process that she had to undergo to save up enough money to the point where her father wouldn’t notice was long and arduous. Not only could she not rely too much on the allowance that she had, but she had to make sure that the account she put the lien into couldn’t be traced back to her father or the company in any way other than her name. Which, because of the many many spies and people that her father had paid off to keep an eye out for anything that may harm him, was more than difficult. 

The job she had to do was even more of a pain in the neck (as it was far more dangerous than simply keeping a secret account from her father) but in the end she’d managed to accumulate just enough to escape to Patch and jump start the process to building her opera house. Though admittedly she still had to work out accommodations, she couldn’t exactly stay in the motel forever.

“Alright.” He nodded finally, the wrinkle near his mouth smoothed out, smile lines taking its place as he beamed at her. “I gotta get back to the grill, Clover is kind of well...” He gestured to where the man was standing, scratching his head and looking pleadingly at another man who was blatantly laughing at him.

“Of course.” She nodded, tucking her knees a little closer to her chest. “Could you do me a favor and send Sun my way?”

Taiyang got that teasing look in his eyes again, he gestured to the hoodie she was wearing. “You two getting close?”

“Friends.” Weiss explained. “I don’t often find myself in the company of men.”

“Oh?” Taiyang asked, that same teasing glint in his eye. “Have any women caught your eye yet?”

She thought that was the worst possible thing he could ever ask her. (Especially considering the fact of the strange and loaded reactions she got when near her daughter.) “I’m afraid not.” She looked back out at the beach, watching the waves lap lazily at the sand. “I’m not exactly... in the correct headspace for something quite like that.”

“I get that.” He said, the teasing look on his face fading. Taiyang nodded his head, a look of pure understanding on his face. “I was like that for a while too...” He considered himself for a moment. “You don’t mind a bit of unsolicited advice, do you?”

“Feel free.” She mumbled warily.

“I know it’s not exactly my place.” He began gently. “But the father in me is hoping that you’ll work on yourself until you're comfortable, and that you won’t enter a romantic or potentially romantic relationship until you’ve processed some of your stuff.” 

Weiss smiled, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I don’t plan on cultivating something like that any time soon...” She knew quite intimately the folly of any love perceived as romantic, her parents had seen to that.

“Ah, here come my girls.” Taiyang pointed out, gesturing for her to look to the side. He handed her the binder back before turning to greet his daughters. Ruby and Yang still appeared to be bickering, but she didn’t pay them much attention, much more fascinated by the water still pooling near her ankles. Her bare feet sunk a little into the wet sand, a strange sensation between her toes.

Maybe she was starting to understand just why her brother loved the beach so much.

“Hey dad!” Ruby greeted excitedly, bouncing about and nearly falling into him. She giggled, knocking her shoulder with his as her smile stretched across her face. Weiss couldn’t quite look at either of them, the sight of such familiarity between father and daughter lodging itself painfully in her chest.

“Hey dad.” Yang greeted much more calmly, though a broad smile was still visible on her face. She shoved Ruby away from Taiyang, ignoring her sputtering as she was sent sprawling into the sand. “Out of the way, Rabies.” 

“I thought I told you not to call me that anymore!” Ruby said, scrambling up to her feet and shooting her sister a look of pure indignation. Her red hoodie and black leggings were stained by the sand, though she didn’t seem to notice—squaring up against her sister in an (extremely misguided) attempt to look intimidating.

“Hey girls, having fun?” Taiyang asked, his smile not faltering. Weiss could barely see how he was still so cheery after seeing his children like that, her own parents would’ve had an aneurysm.

“Nope!” Ruby exclaimed faux cheerfully, turning away from her sister to face her father. “I was forced to endure Yang’s one sided flirting...” She suddenly looked very solemn. “Poor Blake.”

“Excuse you!” Yang protested, shoving Ruby back into the sand. “You _wish_ you had as much game as I do.”

“Honestly?” Ruby scowled, rising to her feet once more. “No, no I do not.”

“ _Puh-lease_ , that’s the biggest load of—”

“Girls. Please.” Taiyang was beginning to lose his composure, his exasperation evident on his suddenly very tired looking face. Weiss almost smiled at the sight, it was kind of nice to see proof that even he could begin to lose his patience, even if it was just a little bit. 

“Sorry, Dad.” They chorused, both of them looking slightly sheepish.

“Right, well...” Weiss didn’t know how she was supposed to do in this situation. She guessed that it would be best to leave them to their own devices, she still did need to find Sun after all. “I suppose it’s best I get—”

“Ah, ah, ah—not so fast, kiddo, have you had a chance to officially meet my daughters yet?” Taiyang asked, bringing both of his children under different arms, ruffling their hair simultaneously. That brought about a string of groans and protests that almost made Weiss smile, though when her eyes went to Ruby she found her gazing steadily at the floor.

Weiss blinked for a moment, it appeared as though Ruby hadn’t told Taiyang about their meeting the day before. 

“Oh totally.” Yang said once she escaped the grasp of her father. “Ice Queen and I hit it off harder than a—”

“Yang, I swear to everything in Remnant if you finish that sentence how I think you were, I won’t hesitate.” Ruby said looking up at her sister with tired eyes.

“Your sister’s right, hot rod—no doubt what you were gonna say was a bit distasteful.” Taiyang lectured.

“ _What_?” Yang scoffed, raising an eyebrow. “No! I was just gonna say something like a glacier, or a block of ice...” She gestured a little spastically as she tried to explain herself. “You know, to go with the whole ‘Ice Queen’ motif?”

“You know, somehow I don’t believe you.” Ruby said, narrowing her gaze.

“Yeah well, it’s my job as an older sister to keep my ittle wittle baby sister on her toes.” Yang smushed Ruby’s cheeks together, making cooing sounds as Ruby frantically tried to escape her.

Was that how sister’s usually acted? She couldn’t quite imagine Winter doing something like that to her, or herself doing something like that to Whitley. The sight just cemented something that Weiss already knew to be true, the amount of love that it took to properly care for someone else was beyond her—beyond the members of her family. But, if that were true, then why was she so enamored by her opera? Why did Whitley fall into books the way he did? And why was Winter so desperate to remain in the military, to cast away the chains she’d seen in their manor.

It had to be love, had to be the promise of it, at least. It had to be the desire for it, the soft brush of emotion that threatened to seep deep inside of them, to bleed into their muscles and bones—to swim in their touch starved minds and settle against their hands as though to hold them.

It had to be love, it could only be love that caused her dream, that drove her to make it a reality.

“Kids, please, we have company.” Taiyang sighed, interrupting Weiss’ inner turmoil. 

“Sorry, Dad.” They chorused again.

“Right.” Weiss nodded her head, edging away from them ever so slightly. She needed to get out of there, she could hardly bear to look at them—how could one happy family begin to make her think such things? “I best be off then, I need to find Wukong—”

“Ah!” Ruby interjected, “Actually I needed to talk to you about something.” 

Yang laughed, slapping her sister on her back and moving to tug Taiyang away. “Come on dad, Rabies has to ’ _talk_ _to_ ’ the Ice Queen about something.”

“Don’t tease your sister too much, hot rod.” He sighed. “She has a mean streak, you know.”

“Yeah, Yang!” Ruby said, sticking her tongue out at Yang. The childish gesture rubbed Weiss the wrong way. “Don’t be such a butt, or I’ll tell _‘Madam Belladonna’_ about every single one of your bad habits.”

“Did you just say Belladonna?” Weiss interjected, eyes widening. She had pieced together that they had been talking about Blake, but she hadn’t pieced together that her last name was _Belladonna_. Could it possibly be that she was of _those_ Belladonnas?

“Uh, yeah, Ice Queen.” Yang said, looking at her as though she’d grown a second head. “Honestly, catch up—”

“My most sincere apologies.” Weiss snapped back, glaring fiercely. If Blake was who she thought she was, if she was _related_ to who she thought she was, then only made more sense that Blake had started out hating her, and she felt as though she could no longer begrudge her of their less than stellar introduction.

“Rude.” Yang scoffed, before her expression became half lecherous half thoughtful. “...not gonna lie, I kinda like that.”

“ _Ew, ew, ew_!” Ruby recoiled, the look on her face one of pure disgust. “Will you just go _away_ —”

“As funny as I’d really rather not hear anymore of this conversation.” Taiyang murmured, looking increasingly uncomfortable. “Come on, hot rod, let’s give your sister and Weiss some privacy.” 

“Thanks, Dad.” Ruby said, sighing in relief as Yang was dragged away.

Weiss watched her curiously, admiring for a moment how the setting sun affected the woman in front of her. If she thought that Blake had been radiant, it was practically nothing compared to the majesty that was in front of her. 

The soft orange light shone in Ruby’s hair, and red seemed to bleed from its roots. An irrational urge to touch her head filled Weiss up immediately, the desire to see if it was really as soft as it felt. How would it look, she wondered? Her pale fingers mixing with the black and red, contrasting beautifully—a sight that she wanted so desperately to see all of a sudden. The strands would be like blood on her hands, Weiss thought, or liquid fire—something red and deep and so dark it was almost black—what would that be?

(And a question filled her up again, a confusing stream of, _why is everything here such an otherworldly beauty? Why do these alien sights and sounds and people belong in a work of art?_ Nothing could actually be this wonderous to look at, nothing could be so eye-catching as to draw her gaze over and over and over again... It just didn’t make sense, she could hardly comprehend it.)

Ruby was staring back at her, a slightly glazed expression on her face, and Weiss wondered if she wasn’t the only one captivated by the sight in front of her. Weiss twitched, her hands going up to fiddle with the collar of her dress shirt, peeking out through the neck hole of the sweatshirt she was wearing. 

“Um.” Ruby mumbled snapping herself out of it. “I just wanted to thank you... I managed to get a hold of your brother...”

“Did you?” Weiss asked, looking away, fighting the desire to take a step back. 

“Yup! He was, uh, a little confused as to how Oscar and I had gotten his email, but it sounded as though he was happy to hear from us.” Ruby grinned, rubbing at the back of her head. 

“Wonderful.” She said quietly, not looking at her. “Was that all?”

“I...” Weiss could practically hear Ruby’s smile beginning to drop. “I mean... I guess so.”

“Right.” A breath escaped her mouth, “Now if you’ll excuse me.”

“Wait a sec.” Ruby said, and Weiss froze before she could move. “Um...” She trailed off, as though she couldn’t find the words she wanted to say.

Weiss sighed out loud, turning her head to face Ruby with pursed lips. “What?”

“I thought—” Ruby cut herself off, a deep frown on her face. She looked down at the wet sand between them, the waves still lapping at Weiss’ ankles. Unlike her, Ruby hadn’t stepped into the ocean. “I was only wondering if we could be friends...”

“Friends?” Weiss asked, and if her walls had risen any higher she wouldn’t be able to see Ruby over them. She didn’t understand, she already had friends—why would she want to bother with Weiss? It wasn’t as if she had anything to bring to the table.

“Yeah.” Ruby beamed, not seeming to notice the icy look on her face. “I thought it would be cool, I mean—”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Weiss said, gentler than she was used to. Ruby was already ‘friends’ with Whitley, it seemed—so why would she ever need one in Weiss? Besides, her brother... had done what he did, and Weiss couldn’t see herself befriending someone who only held fond memories of him. “I thought you said that Whitley was happy to hear from you.”

“He was.” Ruby said, looking perplexed and a little hurt. “But what does he have to do with anything?”

Weiss sighed and crossed her arms, adjusting the satchel on her shoulder for a moment. It wouldn’t do to be cruel to Ruby here, not only was her father the one who held Weiss’ dreams in his hands, but a part of her didn’t like the thought of her being rude. Though, she thought, kindness wasn’t exactly something she was very good at.

“You don’t need anything from me anymore.” Weiss said simply, doing her best to explain. “Why would you still want to talk to me?” 

Ruby blinked. “Uh, I dunno, I mean you seem cool I guess.”

Weiss fought the urge to let out a stream of raw frustration. She pinched the bridge of her nose, settling her other hand on her hip. It couldn’t possibly be that simple, there was no way. “Look.” She stated plainly, trying not to sound scathing and failing miserably. “You’re friends with my brother.”

“Okay... and?”

“ _And_ I don’t think he’d appreciate it.” Weiss snapped back, “Your my brother’s friend—it would be untoward if I were to—”

“To what?” Ruby asked, crossing her arms. “Get along with me?”

“If that’s how you want to put it.” She glared. Why couldn’t Ruby just take the hint and leave her alone? She didn’t need the stress that would come with her presence in her life, why couldn’t she just understand that?

(Maybe, a voice in the back of her mind whispered, it’s because you haven’t actually _told_ her any of this.)

Ruby stared for a moment, before shaking her head and sighing. “Fine, I can’t force you to be friends with me.”

Weiss stared at her for a moment, watching her uncertainty. “Thank you.” Suddenly feeling the need to placate her, Weiss continued. “It’s nothing against you, truly.” Weiss’ words were surprisingly earnest. “But my brother... he’s hardly had anyone he could call his own, he’s had plenty of things that were his, sure—but they come and go, and people... well, they aren’t so easily found and gotten rid of.”

“I guess.” Ruby mumbled dejectedly. “You know, I thought that you two didn’t get along, but you actually think about him a lot, don’t you?”

“I suppose.” Weiss smiled, a bitter twist of her lips. She turned away, watching as the night sky finally began to show itself. Ruby stayed beside her, watching as the moon rose and shone against the waves. In those moments, Weiss allowed herself to entertain the idea of friendship, allowed herself to wonder what it would be like.

Then, as she left Ruby watching the moon to find Sun, she promptly rid herself of the hopeful thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love sun so much,,,, he make my heart go boom boom,,,, anyway Weiss thinks ruby is pretty, and that's that on that,,,, but anyway who's ready for that sweet sweet slow burn? haha,,,, ...it's already killing me and i'm the one writing it


	5. i'd rather be staring death between it's eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And Weiss had _never blamed her for it._
> 
> Oh she’d stewed in hatred and self pity sure, wallowed in the righteous anger as it bled away into _nothingness,_ but in the end the thought of blaming Winter for leaving her had never even crossed her mind. Weiss had lost her dream, lost all the progress she’d made in one spiteful and angry night. She’d set her dreams ablaze the same way she was sure Winter wanted to do to the manor they’d spent their childhood in, the same way she was sure Winter took the name Schnee and deposited it just outside the recruitment office.
> 
> And it was then that her relationship with Whitley blossomed into something more than before, dangerous and fickle and full of terrifying moments in which they hid from their parents and the expectations thrust upon them with Winter’s absence. 
> 
> Was that why she cared _so much_ for Whitley’s well-being? She wondered. Did she want him to be alright, to have a crutch because she’d lost her own?
> 
> Or;
> 
> Weiss is a possessive person by nature, this surprises exactly no one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> friendly reminder that weiss is an unreliable narrator! she doesn't know shit lmao

Weiss was sure that her greatest fear was losing the drive she had to make her dream into a reality. She was absolutely positive that was the biggest thing. It was the thought that made her stomach plummet, her mouth dry. The idea that one day she would wake, and find herself wanting for _nothing_. It might've been a silly fear to others, may have been one that broadcasted her obvious privilege to others, but it was hers. 

(And it wasn't like it wasn't a very real one, after all, she had succumbed to it before.)

Those were the days she’d rather not think about, the crushing and overwhelming vats of _nothing_ that filled up the gaps inside of her soul. Before those moments she’d have done anything to give up the bitterness that her heart had based itself on, but soon after she welcomed the anger—if only because it was _something._ Something to feel, to warm her, and even if the flames of emotion that did so were sickly with the infection of isolation and fury at least she _felt_ it.

Which, now that she had the time to think about it, was probably not the healthiest thing she’d ever done.

But it was _her_ dream, _hers._ It was something that she could easily say that _she_ had come up with, that came from her mind and body and soul—a grand proclamation of her road to happiness—because that’s what her opera house was, _hers._ And now, right as it was time to get on with the construction, that’s what it always would be.

If Taiyang actually _let_ her help out, of course.

She was a total stranger to the work required for the actual _construction_ of her dream, which was ironic considering just about everything. Sure she’d managed to convince her father to allow her college courses for architecture when she had turned seventeen, but she wasn’t around long enough to actually get any sort of degree. Luckily, there were resources there for the students that allowed her to get in contact with a licenced architect, and (for a fee of course) Weiss had managed to get his approval over the design of the opera house.

That meant that Taiyang was reluctant to allow her to do much of any work.

“You’re the boss, Weiss.” He laughed, one hand running through his golden hair and the other fiddling with a bright orange hardhat. “You don’t have to do our jobs for us.”

“I want to help in any way I can.” Weiss admitted quietly to him. “This is _my_ dream, _mine._ Please excuse me if I’m a tad possessive over it.” 

They were standing inside of his office (well it was more a trailer, but Taiyang had said it was an office and she decided to abide by his wishes and stubbornly consider it as such) finalizing the plans to begin 

Taiyang laughed, reaching over and ruffling her hair. 

Weiss was too startled to do anything.

_That was unprofessional_ , she thought, _Father would have him fired and blacklisted for something like that._

And the touch itself, innocent and kind—almost... _paternal_ in nature.

It was so _strange._

“You’re too serious for your own good, Weiss.” He laughed. “When was the last time you took a moment for yourself? I think I’ve only ever seen you smile once or twice.”

“I want to help.” Weiss repeated herself, ignoring the strange bubbling sensation that rose inside her chest at his words.

“You _are_ helping kiddo.” He said fondly, his smile causing the wrinkles around his mouth and eyes to be more prevalent. _Laugh lines_ , Weiss thought. “You shouldn’t worry too much, we got this in the bag, y’know—besides, without you this whole thing wouldn’t be happening, any construction company can build this, but only _you_ can show ‘em how.”

Weiss couldn’t help but feel that he didn’t understand, and it didn't help that she didn’t know how to explain it to him—her desire. She had reluctantly come to terms with the fact that she wouldn’t be able to do much of anything of real substance when it came to the actual act of construction. Still, there was no helping the feeling of seeping sand from her fingertips, and so she tried once more.

“Still.” She said firmly, voice quiet but sharp with unseen strength.

“Still?” Taiyang raised a brow. 

“Still.”

“Alright.” He nodded, “I guess you can help Sun move some of the stuff, make sure to lift with your knees and wear a hardhat.” He paused, smiling. “Not that you actually need the hardhat for helping tools into the truck, but it’s a requirement.”

“What?” Weiss frowned. “I can do that, I suppose, but if I don’t need it then why...?”

“I thought it’d look cute.” Taiyang admitted. “Little Weiss Schnee, working her first construction job...” He sniffled, rubbing at his face and striking a dramatic pose. “Wow are those _tears?_ I am so proud right now.”

Weiss blinked, something odd constricting inside of her. It felt like something had ripped or snapped, a rubber band being stretched too thin. “Uh huh.”

“And uh...” He suddenly looked awkward. “I don’t want to be nag, but... okay so I know that the only type of clothes you have are... _fancy_.”

“Yes.” She looked down at herself, eyeing her pale blue buttoned up blouse and gray slacks. “I see what you mean.” 

The only problem was that she didn’t exactly know what to do about it. She wasn’t used to casual or work clothing, she didn’t even know entirely what they were supposed to be or _look_ like. Sure, Sun had let her borrow a hoodie the other day (and it was so comfortable she had very much reluctantly given it back) but she’d actually have to go _shopping_ to make additions to her wardrobe.

(She was reluctant and wary to spend money, even though she knew she had enough for the opera house and a little to the side, her funds were most definitely _not_ infinite.)

“...I’m sure Sun will let you borrow an extra pair of clothes.” He nodded, plopping his hardhat on his head and clasping his hands together. “Okay! Good talk, I’ll go get him.” Then he was leaving his office, off to find Sun.

Weiss blinked for a moment, dazed. She forced herself to get a grip on herself, shaking her head and rubbing at her eyes. That had been... strange. Did Taiyang treat everyone like that? How odd.

A loud ringing sound interrupted her brooding, she jumped slightly before remembering that was the ringtone to her phone. She swallowed her confusion, grimacing and pulling it out of her pocket. Her expression worsened, before she decided to silence it and let it ring. 

She wasn’t in the mood for a fight.

Weiss made her way to the door, deciding to wait for Sun outside, Taiyang had pictures hanging up around his office and felt like they were silently judging her the second she’d walked in. She peeked at one of the pictures, seeing a family of six staring at the camera and smiling. There were two grown women in the picture that Weiss didn’t recognize.

_One of them must be Ruby’s mother._

Weiss left the office as quickly as she could after that. Her heart pounded in her throat, discomfort lining her shoulders and she closed the door behind her, squinting around as the summer sun distorted her vision. Weiss took another breath, she had no business pondering Taiyang’s family, especially considering that it was entirely unprofessional to do so.

Her phone started to ring again.

Weiss set it to silent, shoving it into her bag where she didn’t have to look at it. The crunch of footsteps on gravel interrupted her thoughts. She looked up, leaning on the railing and making eye-contact with Ruby Rose. Her lips twitched downwards.

Ruby seemed surprised to see her there. “Uh, hey, Weiss!” She greeted loudly, and then visibly cringed. “I mean, uh, hi!” It was almost cute, an observation that had her inwardly grimacing. “I was looking for Dad, uh... is he in his office?”

“Hello.” Weiss nodded in greeting, “No, he went off to find Sun for me.”

“Oh cool! Cool.” Ruby nodded rapidly. “Uh, ‘s very cool.” She rocked back on her heels, clasping her hands together before wincing a little and shoving them in her hoodie pocket. She looked... uncomfortable.

Weiss said nothing, her fingers drumming against the railing absentmindedly as she schooled her expression, making sure it revealed absolutely nothing. Judging from the look on Ruby’s face, she succeeded. She wondered briefly if this strange behavior was caused by their conversation on the beach. 

She paused, that was a really stupid thing to think.

_Of course_ it was caused by their conversation on the beach. Weiss had slapped away Ruby’s proposal of friendship with nothing more than a couple of words. She pursed her lips in displeasure, if she knew that their interactions were going to be this strained...

No, she still would’ve done it, but it would’ve been with a much heavier heart.

“It’s...” Ruby paused, stumbling over her words again, it happened so often that Weiss was beginning to become a bit worried. “It’s nice to see you again?”

“Is that a question?” Weiss asked, barely able to stop the amusement from seeping into her tone.

The look Ruby shot her was full of pure panic. “Um no? I mean _no,_ no definitely not—”

“Right.” Weiss interrupted, taking pity and deciding to put Ruby out of her misery. It was. She didn’t. She _couldn’t—_

(God, even doing something as small as that for Ruby set off the alarms inside of her. It was so small, the barest brush of an act of _mercy_ —it wasn’t even _kindness_ —and it still made Weiss feel like she was cheating something... someone.)

“Uh, right.” Ruby nodded. “So...” She trailed off a little, taking a tired little breath. “You’re friends with Sun?

_This is awkward._

“Yes.” Weiss nodded, before pausing. “We both like the same operas.”

“Opera?” Ruby blinked. “Really?”

Weiss frowned, annoyed on her friends behalf. “Yes.” She said, not scathingly but not exactly nice. “Opera.”

Ruby nodded wordlessly, still fidgeting. She was chewing on her bottom lip, looking more uncomfortable then Weiss had ever seen her before. It was clear that she had something pressing on her mind. “Hey, Weiss?”

“Yes?” She asked, a frown beginning to slide into place on her face.

“Whitley said something about you.” Ruby admitted.

_This is even more awkward._

Weiss looked at Ruby in disbelief. She could hardly believe that Whitley had mentioned her to _anyone,_ surely she must be exaggerating? Perhaps Whitley had made an offhand comment about a sister and Ruby had assumed it was her. This certainly seemed more plausible than the way Ruby was making it sound. “Oh?”

“He said that you were missing.” Ruby said, her voice alight with nervous energy, the look on her face was soft. “He, uh, said that he didn’t know where you were.”

“Did he?” She raised a brow, holding back a scoff.

“Yeah.” Ruby nodded, and somehow she’d managed to school her expression into something less anxious. “He did.”

“Didn’t think he’d notice for another week or so.” Weiss mused, not quite being able to help herself. She knew that she wasn’t being very kind or polite to Ruby, but she’d ran out of the energy to care. “Color me surprised.”

“I...” Something on Ruby’s face flickered guiltily. “I told him that you were here.”

“Of course you did.” Weiss nodded, batting away the swarm of negative feelings that came with Ruby’s admission and thinking for a moment. She’d have to start making moves to secure her position on the island, perhaps a house? She’d _definitely_ have to get out of that motel. Having a base of operations would certainly make it a tad bit harder to kidnap her then staying in a motel...

“You—uh, you don’t look angry.” Ruby squeaked out.

“Oh I am _livid_ , Ruby Rose, make no mistake.” Weiss’ lips twitched downward. Truly, she was, the anger that licked at her scorched the bones and muscles beneath her skin—a constant gnawing _ache_ in her body. However, there was no use dwelling on her rage at that moment. “But I’ve resolved myself because I already knew that you’d tell him eventually.”

That, at least, was true. She hadn’t expected her presence on the island to go unnoticed once it was revealed that Whitley had companions here... _friends,_ as they liked to call themselves. If she was a smarter, more logical person she would’ve told Ruby that she didn’t have anything she could use to contact Whitley—not until she was in a more secure position, at least—but she _hadn’t_. She’d thought about it, sure, but she gave up the email freely—knowing that she had practically been signing her own death warrant. 

But the look that had been on Ruby’s face had been... inspiring of gentleness. Her eyes had creased, her mouth had puckered and her nose scrunched and Weiss had—for lack of better word— _melted._ Her reputation as ice had not seemed to matter in those moments, it was as though Ruby had not been asking her for something to see her brother, but asking something so she could talk to _her._

It had inspired warmth, and she handed over the email address with nary a thought.

Weiss honestly still didn’t know if she regretted it or not.

“It was an accident.” Ruby said, moving forward to stand in front of the railing. She was shorter than Weiss at that moment, and looking down at her made it far easier to see that there was something earnest in her expression. 

But Weiss wasn’t impressed. “And?”

Ruby scrambled. “I didn’t _mean_ to—”

“Why does that _matter_ , exactly?” Weiss asked lethargically, leaning back a little and lifting her chin. The idea of looking at Ruby straight on gave her hives, so she was careful not to.

“I... what?” Ruby floundered.

Weiss frowned, considering her for a moment. “Why do you want me to think it was an accident?”

“Because it _was._ ” Ruby said firmly, her brows furrowing.

“Alright?” Weiss tilted her head, she was... confused. What was the point in making her think it was unintentional? It wasn’t like Ruby had any personal stake in what Weiss believed or didn’t believe. “It’s not a surprise that you _‘accidentally’_ told him, I planned for it, actually.”

Ruby stared for a moment, and a puff of air escaped her mouth—not quite a scoff but not exactly a sigh. “You don’t believe me.”

“Not really, no.” Weiss admitted with a shrug. She didn’t see the point in lying to Ruby at that moment, not only would it leave a bitter taste on her tongue, but making what Weiss believed more palatable would help no one in this situation. “You’re a kind person, I think, but kind people aren’t kind all the time, especially in regards to the people they care about.” 

Ruby stared at her, open mouthed. “What?”

“I knew that you’d let it slip to Whitley eventually, you don’t seem like the type of person who’s very fond of secrets.” Weiss said. “I just didn’t think it’d be so soon, you wouldn’t mention I was here unless he brought it up first, and I didn’t think he’d bring it up.” She almost smiled for a moment, releasing a soft sigh from her mouth, she miscalculated how much Whitley had cared for Ruby. 

It wouldn’t happen again.

“You really...” Ruby frowned, her expression scrunching up in thought. “You really see things that way, don’t you?”

“That is the way things are, why would I delude myself into seeing something different?” Weiss tilted her head. Honestly, what else did Ruby expect her to do? _Cry_ about it? She had a responsibility to herself to make sure her dream progressed as smoothly as it could, and that meant not wasting any precious time on wallowing in sadness.

Ruby laughed, a choked sound. “That’s...”

“Just how it is.” Weiss finished for her.

Ruby looked uncomfortable, and it tugged at her heartstrings more then she’d like to admit.

“Thank you, though.” Weiss sighed grudgingly. “For telling me.” She paused, crossing her arms, and turning away. “I didn’t expect that.” And her expression wasn’t warm exactly, but it wasn’t cold either, and it showed in the way that her shoulders began to relax.

For a moment, Ruby’s eyes softened, and Weiss paused.

She honestly hadn’t expected Ruby to tell her, she assumed she would find out that Ruby—( _or that other boy that Whitley talks to, what was his name? Oscar maybe?_ )—had let it slip when Whitley managed to find a way to communicate with her. It was a pleasant surprise, and it soothed her anger a little.

Maybe things wouldn’t be so bad.

“I know that...” Ruby trailed off for a moment, looking as though she was gathering the courage to speak again. “I know that something—that’s _totally_ none of my business—happened between you two, but he told me... uh, he told me to tell you that he wanted to talk to you.”

And Weiss hated, suddenly. 

Why couldn’t have Ruby just left it at that? It would’ve been a nice thought to hold onto, the idea that Ruby was talking to _her_ (doing an act of kindness for _her_ ) that her brother had almost _nothing_ to do with. Sure, she was there to apologize because she’d said something to Whitley, but the fact that Ruby had followed that up with a _message_ from him?

It was like the only reason she apologized was because Whitley asked her to.

That... That was stupid, actually. 

Whitley would never ask anyone to apologize to anyone, especially not if that person was _Weiss._ The apology probably did come from Ruby’s own mind, but it was probably a requirement to her, an opener to what she was really there for.

(Whitley.)

Was _that_ why Ruby was talking to her at all? Was _that_ why she’d even told Weiss that she’d talked to Whitley? Because _he_ had something he needed to tell her?

She should’ve known better.

“Right.” Weiss said coldly, and her eyes hardened. She couldn’t believe that she’d been so naive. “Is that all?”

Ruby blinked for a moment, caught off guard by her sudden change in demeanor. “Uh.”

Weiss nodded, looking away.

“Weiss!” A voice called from close by, too close. Sun appeared from behind one of the large stacks of materials, his grin seemed fixed. “Hey!” He was wearing a tank top and jean shorts, his hands were covered by work gloves and he had a bag slung over his shoulder.

She narrowed her eyes.

Why did she have the feeling he’d been standing there for a while?

_Probably because he had been._

“Wukong.” She nodded her head, not able to help her amused smile. If it had been anyone else she was sure that she would’ve been livid, but it was Sun, so she was only mildly annoyed.

“Your dad’s looking for you, Little Rubes.” Sun smiled over at Ruby. “He’s over by the wood piles.”

“Thanks.” Ruby said, voice rushed, and with one last look at Weiss she hurried to get away.

Sun waved until she disappeared.

“How long were you eavesdropping?” Weiss asked as soon as Ruby was gone.

“Not long.” He admitted, looking uncomfortable. “You’re were uh, hard not to listen to.” 

“Mhmm.” She hummed, propping her arms against the railing and eyeing him. “And you couldn’t interrupt us?”

“I... No.” Sun shifted. “It felt wrong to.”

“Nevertheless.” Weiss leveled him with a stare. “Next time, I would appreciate it.”

“Of course.” He nodded, stilling again and adjusting the bag on his shoulder. “Why are you like that with her?”

“Excuse me?” Weiss gripped the railing a little tighter for a moment before releasing it, moving to instead lean forward and prop her elbows on it. It was less comfortable, but it was easier to talk to Sun when she had an excuse not to look at him.

“I said why are you like that with her? She was... she was trying to do something nice, I think.” Sun hesitated. “I didn’t really hear all of the conversation, but you thanked her right? So... was she nice?”

“Perhaps—” Weiss paused, pursing her lips. She started over again. “Perhaps she may have been attempting to do something... nice, but it wasn’t for me.”

“Huh?” Sun blinked.

“She came here at the behest of my brother.” Weiss explained, and damn, didn’t that bother her. Every reminder of him drowned her in wave after wave of discomfort, and now that it was revealed just how _close_ he was to Ruby Rose, every time Weiss would see her would be a sign of his existence. 

(Would be a sign of his impact on people.)

Whitley already had a grasp of the island, already had a foothold to steady himself with. If she knew her brother even half as well as she thought she did, Weiss knew that he would do something to encompass it—even more now that he knew she was on it. There was her hope, of course, her hope that he would allow her the briefest moments of reprieve—but honestly, she should know better by now then to hope for silly things like breaks.

Sun frowned at her, sucking on his left cheek and adjusting the strap of his bag with one hand. “That’s not—” He paused, visibly considering her words. “Oh. It did sound a little like that at the end of things, didn’t it?”

“Yes.” She agreed.

“So it made things... different than she had meant them to.” He nodded, his lips pulling into a reluctant smile. “Ah, Ruby _always_ minces up her words—”

“ _Meant_ them to? She _meant_ this to be something for Whitley.” Weiss cut him off, a frown marring her face. “She talked to me for _him._ ”

Honestly, it’s something that Weiss didn’t know if she could ever forgive. She knew objectively that Ruby meant her no real harm, but Weiss found that despised that fact even more. It would be easier if _Whitley’s friend_ was cruel to her, it would be easier if she wasn’t so plainly... _likable._

“But... she still was trying to be nice to you, to _you_ Weiss, and then you... kind of pushed her away.” He shifted. “I just want to know _why_ I guess, I mean—now that you’ve said what she came here for I think I have an idea, but I don’t wanna assume...” He smiled at her. “I wanna know you, all of you, I think—and that means not assuming anything you haven’t told me.”

“I could lie to you.” Weiss pointed out, tilting her head a little curiously. She wondered where he was trying to go with this. “That would make things a great deal harder.”

“Anyone can lie to me.” Sun said. “But I have a feeling you don’t lie unless you absolutely have to, and I have a feeling that if you find yourself in a situation where you have to lie to me about yourself then I don’t deserve to know in the first place.”

She eyed him for a moment. “You are... something else, Sun King.”

“I can say the same for you, Snow Empress.” He grinned brightly, his cheeks rosy and tanned and creasing in his happiness. “Our nicknames match!”

“They do.” Weiss nodded after a moment, “This is acceptable.”

“Did you come up with any others?”

“A handful.” Weiss admitted, beginning to list them on her fingers. “Sunlight, Sunny, Sol, Pretty Boy, Ocean eyes—”

“Can I steal that last one for Neptune?” Sun asked, eyes sparkling.

“Feel free.” Weiss smiled, and it hurt her face to do so sincerely but she managed. It was quiet as she considered what next to say to him. “I am possessive.” She admitted after a moment.

“Yeah, no shit?” Sun asked, blinking widely and dramatically. “I didn’t notice.”

She snorted, rolling her eyes. “Just listen.”

“Okay.” His sarcastic demeanor softened.

“I am possessive, everything that I want I have to thoroughly _own_ or it doesn’t feel like it’s mine.” Weiss closed her eyes up tight. “I _know_ , alright? I know how that sounds, how wrong it might be, _I know._ I just—I can’t _help_ it. It’s been like this since I was a child, when you grow up the way my siblings and I did... you want things, and when you don’t have them... well.”

“Oh.” Sun said, slowly beginning to frown. “But... you can’t own a person.”

“No.” Weiss agreed. “You can’t.” She smiled, a bland, waifish thing. “But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.”

“Your brother...” Sun frowned. “You feel like...” He scowled. “He doesn’t _own_ her, Weiss, she’s just his friend.”

“When my brother and I were children.” She started, ignoring him. “We played a game.” Weiss looked up, meeting his eyes—blue, like hers, except his were infinitely softer and far more vibrant. “We would find something, something that someone could give us, that we could buy—and we’d see who had the best item.” Her smile turned bitter. “I... He won more than I did.”

(But only because Whitley did not hesitate to _press,_ only because he knew what to say and what to do to get Weiss positively _seething._ And it wasn’t like Weiss didn’t give at as good as she got, but she’d never been as _competitive_ as him, which was saying something.)

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“I suppose.” Weiss smiled. “That I can let him win, just this once.” And it would be a good win too, it’d be a win he didn’t even know he had. (Though he had many of those.) It was easier if she let him have Ruby near him early on, it was easier if she made herself distant to her _brother’s_ friend—that way he wouldn’t notice it, what she wanted.

He’d let Weiss have her, she knew, but it would come with a cost—one that she wasn’t quite ready to pay.

“That is _so_ fucked up.” Sun said, laughing. “I think that you’re wrong, but I don’t know your brother so I can’t really say anything just—” His smile shrank a bit. “Can you treat Ruby... not so mean? I... she doesn’t deserve it.”

“It was not my intention to be cruel.” Weiss murmured softly, looking down at her shoes. “Nevertheless, I’ll do my best to abide by your wishes.”

“Okay, nerd.” Sun snorted, stretching out his arms and then reaching to open his bag. “The old man told me that you’d probably need some clothes, and I always keep an extra clean outfit on me just in case, soooo—” He grinned, pulling a pair of drawstring shorts out of the bag. “You’re gonna wear these, oh!” He pulled a hardhat off his head, “The old man told me to put this on you too.”

“Right.” Weiss took them both from his hands. “No shirt?”

“Nah.” Sun looked sheepish. “I already used it.”

“I see.” Weiss sighed, “Where can I change?”

Sun directed her to a bathroom, and Weiss hurried to get dressed in the shorts he’d given her. It was a funny look, she decided as she looked at herself in the bathroom mirror, bright blue drawstring shorts reaching down far below her knees and her pale button up shirt. She grimaced, leaning down to roll up the shorts a little until they were just below her knee and then unbuttoning the cuffs of her shirt to roll up her sleeves to her elbows.

She looked over herself in the mirror again with a critical eye, she couldn’t quite help her vanity, even when she knew Sun was likely one of the only people who would see her. 

Weiss sighed, pursing her lips. She still looked kind of silly, but it would do. (She was thankful that the bathroom mirror wasn’t a full body one, she didn’t think she’d be able to stand seeing her flats.)

After that, she and Sun got to work. 

It was a relatively simple job, just putting things like tools and crates of materials into a large moving truck. Weiss suspected that her help only marginally boosted the overall efficacy of the task, but it made her feel better, made her feel more in control over what was happening. She ignored the way that Sun would pause to take a picture of her, giggling to himself.

“So I was thinking.” He began when they were finished, sipping some water and sitting in the front seat of the truck. They were going to drive it over to the opera house later, but for now they sat in the seats resting, the doors wide open as they relished in the rare breeze.

“Never a good sign.” Weiss quipped absentmindedly, using the hardhat to fan at her face.

“Ha! Funny.” Sun rolled his eyes, reaching into his bag and pulling out a pack of CD’s, grabbing at one she recognized as a musical. He liked them as much as opera it seemed, not that Weiss was complaining, she was sure that she’d like his recommendations—or at the very least tolerate them.

“Wasn’t it?” Weiss asked. “Isn’t my wit just unparalleled? Don’t I—”

“I’m not gonna suck your dick, Weiss, stop asking.” Sun scoffed out a laugh, popping in the CD to the truck but not turning it on yet. It seemed the conversation he was gearing up for was to be a serious one.

“How crass.” She grimaced, leaning into the back of the passenger seat. “Very well, carry on.”

“So, you were a massive bitch to Ruby earlier.” Sun said, drumming his hands on the steering wheel. 

Weiss rolled her eyes but nodded. “Indeed.”

“This is because she— _ugh I hate to say it_ —had already been ‘claimed’ by your brother as a friend?” Sun asked, using finger quotes.

“She’s _his_ friend, yes.” Weiss agreed, the makings of a frown beginning to seep into her expression.

Sun nodded. “So let’s say that Whitley comes down here—”

“He wouldn’t.” Weiss scoffed.

“—and meets me, we hit it off—”

“I’m sure he’d despise you.” She retorted.

“—and we have a nice time, bro-ing it out and everything, but then—” He slapped his hands over his cheeks dramatically, “—disaster strikes!”

Weiss’ eye twitched. “If you don’t get to the point in the next three sentences it certainly will.”

“Ugh, Weiss you’re taking the fun out of it.” Sun teased goodnaturedly, flashing her a bright grin.

“Good.” She mumbled, averting her gaze and crossing her arms.

Sun blinked, pausing. “Oh, you’re in a bad mood right now.”

“I—what?” Weiss stiffened. How had he drawn that conclusion?

“I can tell, your responses are more snappy than usual, before it was like you were having fun, but now it’s like you’re defensive.” Sun explained. He shot her a careful smile, gentle and soft, “I don’t mean to press.”

Weiss waved off his words, sighing. “Apologies, family matters usually stay inside of the family in question, I’m not used to being allowed to talk about it.”

“We should talk about that later.” Sun said, pursing his lips as he frowned worriedly. “Anyway, so let’s say he finds out that I was your friend first, would he back off?”

Weiss paused, bringing her hand to her mouth as she thought for a moment. “Usually that _would_ be grounds for leaving you be, the game we played was never about stealing from each other, only showing off what we already had—he’d likely count it as a win for me, even if I never found out about your meeting.”

“...He kind of sounds like you.” Sun murmured after a moment, looking thoughtful

“We _are_ quite similar.” Weiss admitted, turning away from him to face forward, looking out the windshield and taking in the area around them. Taiyang owned a plot of land that he kept his work machines and materials in, and it was saturated in yellows and whites and oranges—almost too bright for Weiss to look at without wincing.

The only saving grace on her eyes were the greens of the rolling hills and trees that surrounded them. It was strange to her, for Taiyang to work so far from town, but she could see why he might prefer it. Her opera house was similar in nature—far from everyone else but not far enough for it to be considered out of town. Patch was a smallish island, the amount of people barely over a hundred thousand, twelve towns keeping them linked together. 

Compared to Atlas that was barely a blip in any possible census. Compared to Atlas and Mantle combined it was _nothing._

Sun sighed, startling her out of her thoughts. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel a little more rapidly, the movement drew her gaze. “Okay, so saying all that happened right? If I told you that I wanted to be friends with him, that I wanted to be friends with _both_ of you, what would happen?”

“I’d... it would take some getting used to, of course.” She grimaced, not feeling bad for her feelings but more worried about how Sun would react. “I’m a very possessive woman, it’s not a very good thing.”

“Eh, don’t worry about it, I think it’s kinda hot.” He brushed her off, sending her an easy smile.

“Never speak to me ever again.” She grimaced.

“Too late, you’re stuck with me.” He stuck out his tongue at her.

“Unfortunately.” But her lips were quirking upward. It wasn’t a smile, but it was as close to one as she got nowadays.

“So you’d be alright with me being friends with him?” Sun asked after a moment of laughter.

“I don’t own you Sun, you’re welcome to make your own decisions, regardless of how I feel about the matter.” Weiss stated diplomatically, something heavy encompassing her body in weariness. It made her jaw clench, her shoulders lining themselves with stiff exhaustion.

She really didn’t like where Sun was going with this.

“Don’t you think it’s the same for Ruby?” Sun asked her, sipping his water again and glancing at her from the corner of his eye.

“What?”

“ _Well_...” He trailed off, his tail waving in the seat behind him, betraying his excitement more than his obviously happy expression. “Your brother doesn’t own her, she’s a big girl—she can make her own decisions about the people she hangs around with, if one of them happens to be you, well, at the end of the day Whitley’s just going to have to suck it up.”

“That’s not how it works.” Weiss protested, frowning.

“Oh? Then explain it to me.” Sun said, his expression mostly open but his eyebrows creased in an emotion she couldn’t make much sense of.

“The game—”

“This _isn’t_ about a game, this _isn’t_ even really about _Ruby_ , it’s about how _you feel_.” Sun interrupted her without even thinking about it, his eyes soft but serious. 

“I could never allow myself—”

“Weiss?” Sun lifted a hand hesitantly, releasing a weary sigh. “Can I say something that might be a little insensitive?”

She knew she would regret allowing him to do so, but she swallowed the fear and the pride. Weiss knew that Sun would have a point, whether or not she chose to heed it was entirely up to her, but she felt as though she _needed_ to hear what he had to say. “Of course.” She whispered. “I will tell you when I want you to shut up.”

His lips quirked upwards, and the smile on his face offset the words that streamed from his mouth. “Screw your stupid rich person game, screw that shit to hell and back because _honestly_ who gives a fuck?”

“I—”

“Something serious went down with your brother, something wrong and terrible and _scarring_ —” (Weiss flinched at the last one) “—and you deserve all the friends you can have right now, who cares what he thinks? At the end of the day, it’s your life, right?”

“You don’t understand.” But her words were uncertain. “I have a _responsibility_ —”

“ _No_ you don’t.”

“Yes I do.” She snapped out, her voice rising. “I have a standard to hold myself to—”

“Why? All of this—” He gestured with his arms, a grand, sweeping thing. (He hits his hand on the dashboard and winces slightly, but ignores it in favor of continuing to speak.) “— _all_ of it is an opportunity for you, for _you_ , Weiss. Whitley doesn’t have a place here, but you _do._ ”

“I’m his older sister!” Weiss yelled out, finally losing grip on the feelings that had steadily begun to overwhelm her. “I’m supposed to _protect_ him—I’m supposed to make sure he’s cared for—”

“That isn’t _your_ job!” Sun narrowed his gaze, not looking angry but very frustrated. “It _isn’t,_ Weiss—and besides, if you’re doing all that for him, then who’s doing it for you? Who’s protecting _you,_ loving _you_?”

And she opens her mouth to say, _Winter_ , but something in her throat stalls and she fails to voice her words.

Weiss _choked_ on Winter’s name, her sister not quite escaping her mouth before she realized it _wasn’t true_. Not anymore, not since Weiss thirteen—Winter had stopped looking out for her when it came to family the moment she’d joined the military. She remembered the time after Winter’s departure intimately, the loneliness she’d felt, the overwhelming sense of _loss._

The grip on her future, something she held close to her chest, the very thing that she had shielded from her father, mother, anyone who might’ve stripped it from her— _slipped._

She had spent _years_ shielding it with her body, taking blow after blow after blow—not allowing her dream to disappear as her sense of self shattered over and over again—only to have it taken from her with a smile from _her sister._ Winter had taken it from her, however accidentally, with the stiff curve of her lips, the pat on her shoulder, and the kiss to the forehead as she left Weiss behind.

And Weiss had _never blamed her for it._

Oh she’d stewed in hatred and self pity sure, wallowed in the righteous anger as it bled away into _nothingness,_ but in the end the thought of blaming Winter for leaving her had never even crossed her mind. Weiss had lost her dream, lost all the progress she’d made in one spiteful and angry night. She’d set her dreams ablaze the same way she was sure Winter wanted to do to the manor they’d spent their childhood in, the same way she was sure Winter took the name Schnee and deposited it just outside the recruitment office.

And it was then that her relationship with Whitley blossomed into something more than before, dangerous and fickle and full of terrifying moments in which they hid from their parents and the expectations thrust upon them with Winter’s absence. 

Was that why she cared _so much_ for Whitley’s well-being? She wondered. Did she want him to be alright, to have a crutch because she’d lost her own?

How positively depressing.

It must have shown on her face, the realization of it all.

Seeing her expression, Sun went silent, his face crumpling under the weight of his obvious guilt. “Oh god I totally just overstepped I’m so sorry.” His shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry—I try to help and help and I never see when it isn’t wanted, it isn’t a good thing.”

“You crossed a line.” Weiss admitted breathlessly, closing her eyes up tight. “But you weren’t the only one.” She took a shaky breath. When she failed to force the feelings about her sister away a sob almost escaped from her throat. “I think that you were _right_ , about the game I mean, I think that I shouldn’t be playing it either.”

“I’m sorry.” He repeated, reaching out toward her but stopping just short of grabbing her hand, remembering that she was less than fond of touch.

“Don’t be.” She swallowed her discomfort and moved, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. “What did you call my possessiveness? Hot?” She sighed, “I suppose that it’s... _hot_ of you to care so much.”

“Oh my god.” Sun wheezed, his startled laughter giving Weiss an excuse to smile. (Not that she did, but at least her expression smoothed out, no longer on the verge of tears.) “Please tell me that everyday, it’s added ten years to my life, holy shit.”

The sound of crunching gravel interrupted them. “Uh, is everyone alright?” A familiar voice called out. “I heard yelling.”

“Ruby!” Sun grinned, hopping out the truck, jostling it a little with his excitement. Weiss blinked, and wondered how strong he had to be to actually _do_ that, when his voice rang out again. “Weiss called me _hot_.”

“What!?” Weiss exclaimed, cheeks flaming as she too exited the truck. “ _No_ I—”

“You can’t take it back! You _can’t._ ” Sun grinned down at her, sticking out his tongue. “You think I’m _hot_ , you _do_.”

She scowled at him, crossing her arms and leaning forward angrily. “You have no say in what I can take back and what I can’t—”

“Snow, you called me _hot,_ that’s not something you can _ever_ take back—”

“Well _you’re_ the one who called me hot first—”

“Um.” Ruby interrupted, “Huh?”

Weiss scoffed, turning to face Ruby and opening her mouth to say something, before she paused.

Ruby looked suspiciously flushed, her eyes lingering on her for a moment before she hastily averted her gaze.

Weiss blinked.

Sun grinned, a wide, mischievous thing. “It would’ve been a sin not to call you hot, Snow, ain’t that right Ruby?” His expression only became more impish when Ruby’s only response was a nervous squeak. “Oh you totally get it! With her sleeves rolled up like that, showing off her forearms and then those _shorts_ —”

“They’re _your_ shorts!” Weiss exclaimed, “What do they even have to do with _my_ attractiveness?”

“Your hotness, you mean?” Sun asked, and Ruby let out another suspicious squeak. “They show off your _legs_ , of course!”

“To think.” Weiss said, face flushing. “I almost thought you were a decent person.”

“Aww.” Sun cooed. “I’m not, but that was really sweet of you.”

Weiss let out a strangled groan, burying her face in her hands and refusing to look at him. “I’m going now.” Her voice was muffled through her palms. “You have ruined my day, a slight against me I can never forgive.”

“Fiiine.” Sun pouted, sighing. “Where you heading?”

“I have no clue, but as long as it's not with you I’ll be fine.” She proclaimed.

“I’m the only one who can give you a ride out of here.” Sun pointed out, whistling innocently while he twired the keys to the moving truck in his fingers.

Weiss groaned louder.

“Um.” Ruby began, “I can give you a ride if you want.”

She froze a little. That... _Why_ would she do that? Wasn’t Weiss cruel to her only hours before? She didn’t want anything from her this time, so why would she even offer?

(Unless, a voice whispered darkly in her ears, she _does_ want something from you.)

“Sounds good!” Sun chirped, patting Weiss on the pack and pushing her forward. “That way I don’t have to drive this truck all the way to town.” 

“Er.” Weiss began. “Alright.”

Ruby twitched, just a little. “Cool.”

“Cool!” Sun exclaimed, shoving the bag with her slacks in them into Weiss’ arms. “Here you go, nerd.”

“Fuck you.” Weiss snarled, making her way toward Ruby and not looking at him.

“Love you too.” Sun sang, pausing for a moment. “Hey, Weiss?”

“What?” She asked, pausing.

“...We’re good right?” And the way he had said it, as though her answer met more to him then anything else, like his friendship with her _mattered_ more than he’d let her see.

It sent a deep spike of something into her heart.

“Of course.” She said solemnly, her voice slightly rasped.

“Dope.” Sun grinned, “See you later.” He bounded to the truck with a small spring in his step.

Weiss rolled her eyes, turning back to Ruby and nodding. “Hello.”

“Hey.” Ruby said, scratching at the back of her neck. 

It was awkward, and Weiss knew that if she wanted to she could make Ruby regret the decision to even have dared _look_ at her. But. Well.

Weiss didn’t want to do that.

And it may have been because she had just finished working, or that she’d already had one too many stress filled conversations that day, but she just. 

Didn’t want to.

Do that.

It was odd. She was no stranger to days where rest from a stressful situation was not an option, and she could handle pressing where she wasn’t wanted more than once a day, but she just _didn’t want to._ It was as refreshing as it was concerning, how could it be that she found something that had come so easily to her that sometimes she didn’t know she was doing it was something she just _didn’t want to do._

Most people would be concerned for her, she mused, if they found out how surprised she was for her lack of desire to do harm.

“So...” Ruby started, rocking back on her heels as she shoved her hands in her hoodie pockets. “Where do you want me to take you?”

Weiss considered herself for a moment. “You really don’t have to.” Her voice was soft.

“What, and let you walk?” Ruby scoffed playfully. “Fat chance.”

Weiss sent her a tired smile. “Thank you.” _Goodness knows I don’t deserve it._

Ruby smiled right back. “It’s no biggie! I’m happy to do this for you.” _Because you're my friend’s older sister._

And even though the thought left a burn in the back of her throat, Weiss couldn’t find it in herself to complain.

* * *

She spends the next couple of days at the motel and opera house, helping where she was allowed and then being sent to sit in one of the corners of the property. Weiss knew better than to complain, she was hardly qualified in any of the work that was being done, and she had a feeling that if she made a fuss of things Taiyang would do something... fatherly again. As nice as it had seemed at the time, she decided that she did not want to experience it from him again.

It’s on the third day that the construction began that Weiss gets the call. It was a slightly foggy night, and Sun had invited her to the beach again. She had been wary to go with him, but he told her that it would be a small get together, maybe ten to fifteen people at most. It was a great deal smaller than the last one she had gone to, so she agreed.

She was happy to find that Blake was there, just as brooding and quiet as usual, though she was in the company of the loud and boisterous Yang Xiao Long which really killed the whole sullen, silent vibe she was going for. Next to Yang was none other than Ruby Rose, and though she waved at Weiss happily enough she didn’t make any move to talk to her.

She couldn’t help the pangs of relief at that.

“You know Neptune, right?” Sun slung an arm around her shoulder, dragging her a little closer to him and Neptune.

“You were there when we met.” Neptune and Weiss said at the same time. He smiled over at her, nothing like the previous flirty looks she’d gotten from him before, and she nodded her head back.

At least they were united in the fact that Sun was a lovable nuisance. 

“I was there too!” Yang piped up from beside Blake, who rolled her eyes fondly at the other woman. “Ice Queen and I totally hit it off.”

“We didn’t.” Weiss frowned. “Why do I have to keep repeating myself?”

“It’s funny?” Yang tried, grinning at her.

“It is kinda funny, Snow.” Sun agreed.

“See? Your boyfriend totally agrees with me.”

“Gross.” Weiss said, wrinkling her nose at the thought of Sun being her boyfriend and the fact that he’d agreed with Yang.

“Wow.” Blake shot her a small smile. “Move quick don’t you, Schnee?”

“ _Gross_.” Weiss repeated herself.

“Aww.” Sun teased, removing his arm from her and flicking her between the eyes. “You’re so cute when you're disgusted by something.”

“Isn’t that all the time?” Blake asked.

“I guess she’s always cute then.” Yang continued.

“Why am I here again?” Weiss sighed out. “I could be sleeping right now, or finishing _Carmen_ , or relistening to _Winterreise_ —”

“Oh that reminds me!” Sun interjected. “Remind me to show you a couple of musicals! I have a handful I think you’ll love.”

“Nerds.” Neptune coughed. He looked around rapidly, “Wow, did anyone hear anything?”

“Hey screw you, man! I once saw you check out the entirety of the Lord of The Rings from the library—”

“Sun!” He squeaked, cheeks reddening. “C’mon, dude! Where’s the bro code?”

“You know how to read?” Yang asked, faking a surprised look on her face.

Her phone rang, loud and sharp through the laughter of Sun’s friends that she wasn’t exactly comfortable with but was beginning to know well enough to talk to. She glanced at the screen, her face scrunching up at the caller ID.

Weiss had the strangest feeling she was going to regret answering. “I have to take this.”

Sun, who was close enough to see the name on her phone, frowned. “You sure? After... after what we talked about—”

“It’s kind of you to care, Wukong.” She allowed him a tiny smile, lowering her voice so everyone else wouldn’t. “But at the end of the day he’s still my brother.”

Sun sighed dramatically. “Fine!”

She snorted, getting up from the log of blanket that she had been sharing with him and moving off near where the ocean met the sand, allowing her feet to soak in the water before answering the call.

“Whitley.” She sighed out, gazing out at the ocean as the crescent moon was reflected on the sharp waves. Weiss thought it was symbolic that only a sliver of it was out the night she decided to answer the call to her brother. It could represent anything, the fondness she still held for him despite it all, the barest hint of light meeting the sea when she finally answered his call—it could mean anything.

It didn’t though, but it could.

“...Weiss.” Whitley greeted, and the sound of his voice was almost enough for her phone to slip through her fingers and into the chilly water that licked at her ankles. Some of the sand gave way beneath her as she shifted, shivering.

It was a chilly night, but she was not cold.

“Please don’t call again.” She decided after a moment. If this was her reaction to him only uttering her _name_ then it was clear she was not ready to speak to him. The icy jabs of anger and bitterness and loneliness pricked at her constantly, a chilly reminder of all she had done and all she had lost because of him.

“Weiss—” He said again, and she could not bear it a moment longer.

“I need...” She cut him off, grimacing at her tone. “ _Time_.”

And wasn’t that so funny? That what she needed was something that she now had in spades? At the manor her days had been numbered, the actions of her father and his people had ensured that she was intimately familiar with the short amount of time she had to make her dream a reality. Her heart had been in a constant frenzy, her mind working a mile a minute, the desperation for just a little more _time_ —

(Though, in the end, all the wanting in the world couldn’t prevent the day she ran out of it.)

“That’s not fair.” Whitley said to her, his voice a whisper in the crashing of the waves against sand.

And the snort that ripped through her was an unholy thing, the sound of her bitter laughter ringing across the dark blades of the ocean. She watched the stars reflect from the water and almost giggled. He _dared_ talk of what was fair?

She would show him _fair._

“Do you know what happened to me after you whispered my secrets to Father?” She asked him, looking up at the sky and closing her eyes, allowing the sparse moonlight to shine down upon her.

“I...” Her brother hesitated, and it was enough.

“Do you?” She pressed him, and the fiery streak of _competitiveness_ ensnared her, trapped her in a prison she didn’t mind being held hostage in.

(Anger were the walls that surrounded her, an emotion built on top of a foundation of a deep, unending sadness.)

“No.” Whitley’s voice didn’t shake, didn’t give anything away, but Weiss knew from the bottom of her heart that _had_ him.

“Then you are in no position to tell me what’s _fair._ ” She hadn’t meant for her voice to come out in a snarl, the action revealing just how bothered she’d been, but even though it gave away her position to him she could not find it in herself to regret it. “Ask him, the next time you see him— _ask_ what became of me. He will lie, of course, but you’ve always _excelled_ at reading between the lines.”

If she tried, she could probably take a knife and slice through the amount of bitterness in her words.

Whitley, because he knew that if he did not change the subject he would regret it, said, “You met my friends.”

Weiss couldn’t hold back her scoff. “If _that’s_ what they are to you.”

“They are.” Whitley snapped back, losing control over his voice for the first time in the conversation. “Take care of them.”

He knew better than to phrase it like a question, that would mean he would owe Weiss something, and however ‘sorry’ or ‘worried’ he may be, he would never risk that. Just like she would never risk owing him, her avoidance of Ruby proved that much, at least.

“You didn’t even ask.” She said anyway, forcing herself to sound amused. Weiss sighed, tsking. “Where have your manners gone, Little Brother? Has slumming it with our father changed you so?”

She was feeling _petty_ , alright? She deserved to be at least a little petty, considering the entirety of the situation.

“Ruby has conveyed... _concern_ , for you.” He ignored her, but his words were biting, almost accusing in nature.

That, at least, was enough to make her pause in trying to antagonize him. 

“Has she.” The words, despite meaning to come out as a question, were more statement like than anything else. Like she was musing his words, wondering if what he said could possibly be true. She opened her eyes, turning her body and glancing at the campfire a good distance away from her.

She could make out the side of Ruby’s face, almost, colored by the warm orange and yellows of the flame—the light dancing in her already red hair.

Weiss chewed on the inside of her cheek.

“...what did you do to deserve such care from her?” Whitley asked her quietly after a moment. She could read between lines, she knew her brother was seething, furious that she’d dare to even _talk_ to Ruby without his... what, consent? Permission? Knowledge, perhaps?

Schnees were possessive ones, she mused to herself, he probably thought that Weiss was seducing her away.

(Wait, _seducing_? Why was _that_ where her mind went—)

“Honestly? Probably nothing.” Weiss said, ignoring the odd flush in her cheeks, thinking back to her brother’s question. She couldn’t find a single instance where they talked that didn’t end in either one of them in a huff (mostly Weiss) or one of them awkwardly trying not to say anything (mostly Ruby.)

“Then why.” And it wasn’t a question, but a demand for information that Weiss feared she didn’t have.

“I’m sure it’s because she’s a very caring individual.” Weiss said, rolling her eyes, doing her best to sound sarcastic. She knew that if she didn’t cough up a real answer right away Whitley would not press, not immediately at least, he’d need some time to build up a way to take the information from her.

“Yes.” There was no hint of sarcasm in his voice. “She really is.”

Weiss felt... odd. 

The way he had said that, Weiss didn’t think she’d ever heard him sound so... _sure_ of something. Was that how he sounded whenever he was around his—(ugh)— _friends?_ Did his voice always sound as though it was saturated in hesitant happiness, a quiet, honest positivity in the people he cared for?

He’d never said anything like that about her. (Never even sounded like that in front of her)

She hated, suddenly, she hated again for him, for Ruby, for that other boy Oscar, she hated that they had something of an uncertain happiness between them as friends. She hated that she knew Whitley would never be that sure of her or her intentions, hated that they’d never trust each other, hated that he’d destroyed the surety she used to have in him.

She hated it, all of it, every single thing.

And then the breeze was brushing against her face, flicking her bangs from her eyes and sweeping away all of that burning, _burning_ emotion until she felt hollow.

Empty.

“Whitley?” She said after a moment, her voice soft. Weiss could barely hear her own voice over the rush of blood in her ears, thunderous, could barely hear her own voice over the crashing of the waves against sand. She closed her eyes again, and for a moment, all she did was listen.

“Yes?”

And then that moment ended.

“Don’t call again.” She said, her voice ringing out loud and clear. She was stronger than this, Weiss knew, she was better than wallowing on the lack of love her brother had for her. It stung, yes, but she would never allow it to control her.

“If that’s what you want.” He said after a moment, voice small.

And she loved him, she loved him because he had been just as much as crutch for her as she thought she was for him.

She looked back at where everyone else was, and watched Yang and Ruby laugh together, shoving at each other’s arms and beaming.

Weiss had really won the lottery when it came to siblings, huh?

“I’ll call you, not soon, but sometime.” She said because she loved him, and because she knew what it was like to feel alone in that manor. “And Whitley?”

“Yes?” He asked, and his voice wasn’t desperate but it was tainted by _something_ that betrayed his feelings.

It was almost like he was sad, like he had regretted it... Had he regretted it?

She knew the answer was no, knew that no matter how bad he felt for Weiss he would never regret putting himself first. It’s what he did. Whitley _survived._ She sometimes liked to joke he’d live longer than she and Winter combined.

“Don’t ask father what he did to me.” She said, voice firm.

“But you said—”

“I was angry, I wanted to be cruel.” Weiss admitted to him quietly. She knew that not knowing what had happened would plague him, she knew that even if he never showed it he’d feel _wrong._ It may hurt him more, now that she revealed that she knew finding out would cause him pain, but if Whitley truly didn’t know what had been done she would never be comfortable with him learning.

Weiss felt like she was flip flopping in her opinions of him, felt like one moment she loved him like _before_ and the next she mourned for him like _after_. It was a horrid existence, thinking of Whitley and almost smiling before she remembered what had happened to her, what had caused the bruises and the pain at that terrible _terrible—_

(Scar.)

“...I see.” He murmured, and when he said it like _that,_ so sure of himself, she almost wanted to believe in him again.

“Do you?” Weiss asked through a soft laugh. It seemed unreal that he would, felt like she would be hoping for too much, but Whitley _had_ surprised her before. Wasn’t that why she was in this mess in the first place?

“Yes.” He said, voice soft, and for the first time she found herself wondering about the look on his face at this moment. Was he crying? Was he blank faced? Was he frowning or glaring or scowling? Were his lips puckered, the way they always did when he was annoyed or inconvenienced? Or was there a foreign, unknown look on his face, one full of something she didn’t think to ever look for, one that she never got to see? 

She didn’t know.

(And she _hated_ not knowing, loathed it with every inch of her being.)

“I see.” She sighed, kicking at the wet sand, the ocean tickling her ankles no longer a comforting sensation. 

Not for the first time, she wondered if he had stood in this exact spot once, staring up at the same sky—the same moon and stars. She wondered if he’d snuck out of the small home their family used to own, hitching a ride or walking down the beach for miles until he’d made it here, at this exact spot, in this exact moment.

She wondered if she ever stood where he stood.

(And for once, she hoped that the answer was yes.)

“You should talk to Ruby.” Whitley said, interrupting her thoughts. It was odd of him to say, out of character enough for her to frown. 

Was he trying to push her into a spot she couldn’t come back from? Was he allowing their possible friendship? Did he expect something in return? Questions that she could have confidently answered just hours before she became unsure of. 

“She cares about people like us, for some reason, cares about people who certainly don’t deserve it.” Whitley continued, his voice a musing mess of tones she didn’t understand and a voice she’d almost never heard.

_He thinks he doesn’t deserve Ruby. He thinks that Weiss doesn’t either._

“I don’t like your implication.” She swallowed, her words coming out slow and uneven.

“You never do.” Whitley said, and it almost sounded like he was on the edge of something, tears or laughter.

Weiss grimaced, and didn’t know what she would’ve liked the answer to be.

“ _Auf Wiedersehen, Bruder._ Goodbye, Brother.” She said to him, soft. It was the first time she’d spoken Old Atlesian since she’d left Atlas.

For a moment, she thought that he wouldn’t respond.

“ _Und du, Schwester._ And you, Sister.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...writing weiss as a rich person is so hard... is that how rich people are??? i don't know. anyway, wow weiss has got issues huh? like damn, seeing people as possessions is totally not healthy! she'll overcome that eventually but still, fuck am i right?
> 
> sun and weiss are both hotties to me, no i do not take criticism leave my monkey husband and ice wife alone
> 
> also,
> 
> ruby: hey weiss ur pretty cool wanna be friends--
> 
> weiss: wow, i can't believe the audacity of you, talking to me. you already have a schnee to talk to, leave me alone
> 
> ruby: okay i guess i'll leave you alone, but i'm still going to be nice!
> 
> weiss: what are you talking about? people can't be nice when they don't want anything from you


	6. take the lock from my mouth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was quiet for a long moment, neither of them saying anything to each other. For a second, the two of them were just sitting there; plopped onto lawn chairs in the sparse apartment that Weiss had managed to wrangle for herself. Right then, in that silence, the two of them were more to each other than the other knew. Their relationship was a great wave, loud and grand—large and powerful at the beginning, but the moment that it crashed onto a beach it became smaller than small; reaching so hopelessly for the mainland, a place it would never manage to reach.
> 
> (A place it would never manage to saturate with it’s water, with it’s waves.)
> 
> In that quiet, the only sounds the soft crooning of _Winterreise_ from her headphones that Weiss could honestly just barely hear, they morphed into something they weren’t; became calm in the face of an inevitable storm. It was easy, in that moment, to acknowledge that their relationship had the potential to become something different, other.
> 
> (More.)
> 
> And then the moment passed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kind of a filler chapter; feat. ruby rose being an all around cutie
> 
> the chapter title is a reference to the character papageno in "die zauberflöte" (called "the magic flute" in english) the queen of night orders three old ladies to put a golden lock on his mouth as a punishment for being a liar. yes this is from an opera. 
> 
> also i think using beach metaphors is gonna be a thing in this fic... the fact that i am just realizing this now, lmao
> 
> oh, and quick warning for the implied child abuse at the schnee manor

The Schnee Manor had been a cage. 

Silver and sparkling, a perversion of the home it had the potential to be, the home that it had once been. The walls were heavy with history, shackled down with the screams of anger and pain and despair. It was as though they too were victims, as though they too were _suffering_ in the midst of the rotten mucks of the Schnee family and their secrets. Weiss had stared at them for years, the pristine wallpaper, how spotless it was—how often it would change when her mother grew bored with it.

Weiss held kinship with the walls, forced silent as they were, her father’s hands and fist slammed into them in frustration and rage—vases and books and various items thrown viciously on to them.

They had felt the heavy hand of her father, just like she had.

Home was a concept she held no grasp on, nothing but a fleeting whisper intermingling with the thoughts in her mind. She had gripped tightly on the hope she had for a home and applied it to her dream, onto the opera house she sought to create. 

_The walls would be happy_ , she thought to herself in the beginnings of the creations of her dreams—only twelve and attached to the metaphor of the Schnee Manor's walls, _with me they would never scream they way they always had, so very silently—with me they would be content in the world that I had created, in the home I have built inside them. And even if they weren’t, even if they hated me, even if they thought the most vile of things, I would never once think to silence their screams of pain, I would never muffle them, never gag them, never urge them quiet. If they were to have nothing but rotting wood and termites, nothing but the burn of anger that came with heartbreaking loneliness, at least they were to have their voices._

(In retrospect, she had been projecting _very_ hard onto the walls of the manor. She could have hated them, could have despised the fact that they never allowed her out of them—but she had learned that they had nothing to do with the fact that she wasn’t allowed outside.)

These were some of the reasons that she was lagging in finding a permanent abode. 

The walls would have to be perfect, see. They’d have to instill in her comfort, make her relax, the perfect color and material and feel of them. When she would press her palm against them they would be cool to the touch, they would not burn. 

If she did not like the walls, she would not rest inside them.

The motel she stayed in had dreadful walls, thin and weak and constantly burning. Their only saving grace was their smoothness, the lack of ridges in the somehow perfect paint job. But she could handle them, because that room wasn’t _hers_ , it didn’t belong to her, wasn’t something she could effortlessly (or even _reluctantly_ ) call home. That made it easier, it was like she was a guest in a slightly (okay, _more_ than slightly) unpleasant home belonging to distant relatives or old family friends.

(Awkward and uncomfortable, but something she was able to stomach with a smile and a thank you.)

It was weighing on her mind constantly. A consistent gnawing ache in her stomach that drew her attention away from the important things. Her call with Whitley had only pressed fast forward on her feelings of anxiety that came with the temporary motel room. She needed a house, an apartment, something—someplace where she could sign her name and make it so that people _knew_ she was there.

There was no guarantee that it would keep her safe, but if her father ever decided to try and take her from Patch he’d have a difficult time doing it if people expected her places.

Sun, who had noticed her nerves, had brought it upon himself to get her to relax. 

Weiss had been forced to the _taqueria_ again, Sun chattering on and on about how tacos always made things better. This visit was loads better than the last one, mainly because Blake was moderately friendly and Weiss was in the company of Sun—who was with her because he wanted to know _her_ , not because he was friends with one of her siblings.

(She might be a little bitter about everything. Just a little.)

But it was nice, spending time with him, having someone to talk to about the things she liked. She was considering bringing up another opera she had enjoyed, but decided to allow Sun to tell her all about a couple of his favorite musicals. While he chattered on and on, she couldn’t help but wonder just how he’d gotten into these types of media. 

She made a note to ask him later, but for now there was another question on her mind. Whitley had asked Weiss to... keep an eye on his friends. That required talking to them, and not only was she on... uncertain terms with Ruby, but she barely even remembered what the other one—(Sun had to remind her that his name was Oscar frequently)—even _looked_ like. 

She didn’t know whether she was going to take much of what her brother had to say about the situation seriously, but she knew it was always wise to be prepared.

“Say, Wukong?” Weiss asked as they ate. She was quite happy to report that the tacos were actually quite wonderful, and Taiyang had been quite right in his assessments. Except for the green sauce, which actually wasn’t that spicy, but Sun had admitted to her that his boss had trouble eating things with too much _pepper_ in them so she didn’t blame Taiyang for being wrong. Sun did mention that there was another salsa they had that only a select few could eat without their mouths completely melting, he had tried to convince Weiss to have some, but she’d decided to take his word for it.

“Yeah?” He looked up at her, cheeks stuffed to the brim and voice muffled.

She sighed, fondly rolling her eyes and averted her gaze for a moment. “How do you... properly apologize to someone?”

“Oh?” Sun tilted his head curiously, pausing for a moment before swallowing all of his food. Brushing the crumbs absentmindedly off of his face, he took a drink of his lemonade, considering. “Did you piss someone off again?”

“Again?” Weiss asked, raising a brow and deciding to ignore his language.

“Well, I did say you were pretty mean to Ruby the other day, right? Girl has the patience of a saint for putting up with you.” Sun pointed out, rubbing his chin. “And you scare a lot of the people in town, you don’t smile much and you glare at everything, freaks them out.” He was probably referring to the fact that if she wasn’t in a good mood she looked actively murderous. “Unless you weren’t nice to any other people while I wasn’t around.”

Weiss smiled.

“I don’t want to know.” He said immediately, and then paused. “Unless it’s funny—my version of funny, _not_ your version of funny.”

Her lips twitched downward. “Our senses of humor overlap enough for me not to know whether or not I should tell you.”

Sun thought for a moment, pretending to stroke at a long beard. “Okay, I’ll laugh as long as no old ladies were shoved off any piers.”

Weiss blinked. “Pardon?”

“Long story, don’t ask.”

She shook off her surprise, and tried to ignore the dreadful stirrings of curiosity that surfaced with his words. “During the night when that dreadful couple was going at it again I played the baby shark song as loud as I could from my telephone.”

Sun stared for a moment, and then promptly broke down into a giggling fit.

“Yes, yes, I am a comedic genius.” Weiss said, rather smugly. “But can we please get back on topic?”

Sun couldn’t quite hide his smile, his laughter still escaping in hiccups from his mouth. “You wanna know how to say _sorry_ to someone?”

“Yes.” Weiss said, scowling at him. “In the event that you are not around to do it for me—” (Sun shot her a slightly disapproving look, but mostly amused) “—I’ll need to know how to do it myself.”

“You’re over exaggerating a little though, right?” Sun asked. “I mean, you do know how to physically say the words ‘ _I’m sorry_ ’ right?”

“ _Wukong_.” Weiss hissed through a grimace.

“Snow Empress, c’mon.” Sun said, “You _know_ how to apologize, you did it to me, so what is this really about?”

She watched him for a moment, the way his eyes shone—earnest and wide, sparkling with genuine interest. Weiss averted her gaze, smoothing out her skirt and coughing into her fist, twitching in the wooden seat. “My brother—” (Sun’s gaze narrowed) “—said something to me the other day... and he had a... _point_.” Her tone was defeated. “I want to apologize to Ruby for being generally intolerable.”

“You weren’t so bad.” Sun said after a moment, looking a lot more sympathetic than she thought she deserved. “But you got her lost a couple times, with all those mixed signals you kept sending her.”

“I was a little... conflicted.” Weiss admitted reluctantly.

“Well, yeah, no shit.” Sun laughed, leaning back in his chair and shooting her an impish grin. “I think everyone from here to _Vacuo_ could see that you were _a little conflicted_ —”

“One more word, Sun King.” Weiss growled out, “One more _word_ —”

“Right, right.” He lifted his hands defensively, waving them in front of himself. “Well, first things first, do you know what you’re sorry for?”

“Being a bitch.” Weiss said, like it was simple.

“If you say that to Ruby _‘legally-cannot-say-fuck’_ Rose she’ll end up doing something like this—” Sun clapped his hands over his cheeks, his eyes going comically wide. “—and then say something like ‘ _oh gee_.’”

Weiss blinked for a moment. “...she has problems with that type of language?”

“Oh yeah, it’s fucking hilarious.” Sun grinned, “On her twentieth birthday everyone tried to get her to cuss—Blake managed it somehow, no one knows exactly what she did, but everyone heard the results.” He paused for a moment. “That was probably the moment Yang became totally in love with her.”

“Because she was able to get Ruby to cuss?” Weiss asked in confusion.

“Because Blake Belladonna has a penchant for doing the impossible.” Sun explained with a soft look on his face. “Making Ruby yell out _‘what the fuck’_ just happens to be one example.”

“I’ll have to take your word for it.” Weiss said, but she was smiling a little. “What was your attempt, bribery?”

“Yeah, actually.” Sun blinked for a moment, tilting his head. “How’d you know?”

“Call it a lucky guess.” She shrugged, turning back to her food and biting into a taco to hide the rapidly growing grin on her face.

He narrowed his eyes, pursing his lips suspiciously, but after a moment went back to wolfing down his food. Sun seemed content enough to let her have her secrets, but that didn’t stop the occasional raised eyebrow sent her way between bites.

Weiss almost laughed, a small smile permanently curving her lips, and turned back to her food.

“Do you want ice cream?” She asked Sun after they were finished, following his example and grabbing her trash to throw away. Weiss felt a bit awkward following him, but did her best to school her expression. “They sell some here, right?”

“Oh yeah.” Sun nodded, looking back and shooting her a grin. “You haven’t lived ‘till you’ve tried Granny Calavera’s _Mangoneadas_.”

“Duly noted.” Weiss nodded her head, placing her hands behind her back as she was led back to the counter where Blake was watching them both with an amused look on her face.

“Sun, Ice Queen.” She greeted lethargically, waving at them both lazily. “Was the food satisfactory?” 

“Yeah.” Sun grinned, reaching around and wrapping an arm around Weiss’ shoulder, ruffling her hair and ignoring her spluttered hissing. “Snow here couldn’t stop raving about how much she liked it, so score one for you nerds!” 

“Get _off_ of me you brute—”

“Anyway.” Sun said, ignoring her. “Two medium _Mangoneadas_ , please.” 

“If you can’t say the words right maybe you shouldn’t say them.” Blake suggested, “Your accent is all wrong, copy me— _Mangoneada._ ”

“ _Mangoneada._ ” Sun repeated, his pronunciation of the word noticeably different than Blake's.

“No,” She said, looking a little frustrated. “ _Mangoneada._ ”

“Isn’t that what I said?” He asked, tilting his head, looking a little bit like a kicked puppy.

Weiss felt the stir of sympathy inside of her, “Mango... neada?” She tried, saying it in the most obvious Atlesian accent she could.

Sun beamed and Blake groaned.

Weiss smiled tentatively back.

“You should look into apartments.” Blake told her, ears flickering a little. She was leaning on the counter, cheek in her palm as she rang up their orders.

“Pardon?” She blinked.

“Apartments.” Blake repeated, as though she was speaking to a child. “You should look into them.” She shifted. “Weren’t you complaining about the motel you were in earlier?”

Weiss had been unaware that Blake had heard that bit of information. She could barely restrain herself from telling her something rude, biting back the remark before it could flee her lips. 

“She’s right!” Sun exclaimed, looking a little brighter than before. “I know there’s a couple open ones in my building! We could be like... neighbors!” He bounced on the balls of his feet, nodding happily. “It would be so cool, I’d go over and say all those _neighbor_ things, like ‘can I borrow some sugar?’ or even ‘wow did you hear what the landlord did yesterday?’ oooh, or you can help cover for me when I sneak dogs into my apartment.”

Sun had _dogs_?

Weiss blinked for a moment, digesting the words he had just said, and only just managing to blurt out. “Dogs?”

“Dogs.” Blake grumbled, crossing her arms and averting her gaze.

“Okay.” Weiss agreed immediately, ignoring the look on Blake’s face and grabbing Sun's hands, looking up at him. She was barely able to stop herself from vibrating excitedly. “Do you have some at your apartment right now? Do you have any puppies? Or older ones? Or maybe even the super wrinkly—”

“Oh God you like dogs too.” Blake moaned out, ears flattening against her skull, “I can’t take it anymore.” She made a finger gun and put it to her head. “Goodbye, cruel world.” Her eyes fluttered closed as she dramatically pretended to shoot.

“I—what?” Weiss blinked, dropping Sun’s palms and waving her hands in front of her defensively. “ _No_ , no I don’t—”

“Don’t even try and hide it, you’re a dog person, I can tell.” Blake grumbled, crossing her arms grumpily and averting her gaze.

“Blake doesn’t like dogs.” Sun explained, and Weiss fought the urge to jump up and grab her by the shoulders to ask why.

The glare that Blake shot him was something wicked. “They’re _scary._ ”

Weiss noticed a wicked glint start to shine in Sun’s eyes. She barely managed not to roll her eyes, grimacing. She already knew him well enough to know that Blake was about to be relentlessly teased.

“Whatever you say, kitty cat.” He cooed, crossing his arms behind his back and leaning forward, grinning sharply down at Blake when she made a noise of disapproval.

Her shoulders shook in sheer annoyance. “Sun Wukong if you call me that _one_ more time—”

He stuck his tongue out at her. “Kitty cat.”

“ _Sun—_!”

“I heard someone start to tease Blake and came as quick as I could.” A voice interrupted from behind them.

“ _Yang_!?” Blake hissed out, clearly startled.

“Holy _shit_!” Sun exclaimed, jumping backward and almost falling over. His startled laughter rang throughout the restaurant, causing patrons to look up but roll their eyes when they noticed who was at the center of the shenanigans. It seemed they were used to Sun and Yang causing a ruckus of some sort.

Weiss had managed to contain herself enough so that she only flinched a little, but inwardly she was screaming rather loudly.

Yang let out a great laugh, running a hand through her hair and pretending to wipe away a couple of tears. She was in her mechanic uniform again, though it was smudged with more stains than the last time Weiss had seen her in it. Yang looked down at her, grinning broadly. “Oh, there’s no spooking you huh, Ice Queen?” 

“I’m afraid not.” She drawled, her left eye twitching in annoyance as she crossed her arms, trying not to sound petulant.

“Was that a pun?” Yang’s eyes widened in sheer excitement. “Did you just pun me? Did I just get _punned_?”

Weiss suddenly had a very bad feeling. “...why does it matter?”

“Yang likes puns.” Blake sighed out. “A lot.” The ‘ _too much_ ’ went unsaid. “I’m going to go check on Ruby and your order, I don’t want to be here for all this.” She gestured purely to Yang and went deeper into the kitchen.

Yang sighed forlornly. “One day, Belladonna, one day.”

“Never!” Blake called back lazily, pausing before she disappeared to shoot Yang a _look._

“One day.” Yang repeated while she lifted her fist, shaking it dramatically, her smile a mile wide. “You will _laugh_ at one of my jokes.”

Blake did not dignify that with a response, instead flipping her off and escaping to where they could no longer see her.

Weiss felt like she was missing something, and exchanged a look with Sun, who shrugged an expression on his face that said _‘well, what can you do?’_

Oh so they liked each other. That made sense. Still, she shot him an unimpressed look, doing her best to convey her absolute annoyance.

“Stop that!” Yang said, looking between the two with narrowed eyes. “You’re freaking me out.”

Sun coughed into his fist, hiding his smile. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Weiss rolled her eyes, sighing and crossing her arms. “Right well, I am going to wait over there—”

“Good afternoon!” A cheerful voice said from near the counter, Weiss turned to find Ruby, smiling and in an apron, holding two plastic cups filled with ice cream.

Weiss felt like collapsing, all of a sudden.

“Oh, hi guys!” She did a spastic wave with her elbow, smacking it against one of the machines. Ruby’s smile went strained as she discreetly pretended that she hadn’t hurt herself. Weiss, deciding not to say anything, averted her gaze as Ruby continued to chatter on. “Blake told me to give you these, now that I see Yang I know why she didn’t want to do it herself.” She handed the plastic cups to them, all while shooting her sister a tiny glare.

“Rabies—”

“ _Yang for the love of God please do not_ —”

“—there’s no need to be mean to me, your wonderful and very precious favorite sister.” Yang finished with a flourish and a wink, shooting Ruby a happy little smile.

“You’re my _only_ sister, that means that you’re only the favorite by _default_ —”

“Ruby, I don't know how to break it to you, but I found out that Dad has another baby mama—”

“Yang _stop it_ —”

Weiss ignored the bickering siblings, examining the _Mangoneada_ with a critical eye. Sliced mangoes were stacked on top of a swirl of yellow and red, a straw which was covered with some type of red candy or food jutting proudly from the ice cream. She was struck with the fact that it was actually quite pretty, the swirl of colors and the way the fruit was positioned.

Sun shot her a grin. “It may be a bit spicy, with the sauces and spices and stuff.”

“Okay.” She said grabbing a plastic spoon and using it to grab a bit of mango. Might as well start with the stuff she already knew, and work her way into it.

Sun had no such reservations, immediately shoving a large spoonful of the red sauce and yellow ice cream. He disregarded the mango slices entirely.

She snorted, shoulder checking him slightly and starting for the door.

  
  


* * *

It turns out the apartment building where Sun lives isn’t so bad. Weiss is positive that it’s leagues better than the motel, even if the landlord was a little dubious when Sun (who was apparently notorious for making the landlord’s life a great deal harder) said that he had a friend who might want to move in. 

Suffice to say it took a little while for the landlord to consider her a genuine candidate for one of their apartments. 

“This was the only one available?” She asked Sun quietly, looking around. 

“Yeah.” He shrugged, “It’s got a couple of the things you need, a fridge, a microwave, a mattress—I could let you borrow a lawn chair or two.”

Weiss shifted uncomfortably, her eyes straying toward the walls, plain and shoddily painted. She’d have to fix those, at least. Perhaps a nice blue or red, she rubbed at her left eye, grimacing at the feeling of her scar beneath her skin but doing her best to ignore it. Some of her injuries had healed in the month she’d been in Patch, the bruises barely there. The only physical remnant of her encounter with the men who belonged to her father was her jagged scar, still pink and obviously fresh but not so much of an angry red anymore.

The doctor warned her it may take some time for it to finally flatten, and that it would always sit on her face—available to everyone who glanced upon it. Weiss had grudgingly come to terms with it. It was a part of her now, a part just like tiny scars on her hands and arms from numerous fencing accidents. 

But it still hurt to look at, sometimes. 

It was a reminder, one that she didn’t often want. 

The night—her dreams—had already been claimed by what happened to her, she despised the fact that the day may fall victim to her demons as well.

Sun, somehow once again noticing the shift in her mood as she moved what little items she had into her new apartment, decided to try and cheer her up. He’d somehow convinced her to throw a housewarming party (though it would actually be in his apartment) and even managed to get her to stay a couple of hours. (Well, more like all the dogs he had convinced her to stay for a couple of hours.)

It was nice, almost. 

Even though the event was relatively small, she found herself sticking to Sun’s side most of the time she was there. The only people she knew were Blake, Yang, Ruby, and Sun’s best friend Neptune. There were a handful of familiar faces that she’d seen hanging around everyone she already knew, but there were too many for her to be entirely comfortable.

Weiss knew it was nothing like the galas or the balls or the fundraisers she’d been forced to attend, but there was something about the environment that made her fall into old habits. The last two public events she’d been to had been outside, on the beach—an area that may have been claimed by her brother but never been touched by her father. 

The building felt... different.

Uncomfortable.

So after about three hours of Blake shooting her knowing sympathetic looks from across the room because she didn't want to be near the abundance of dogs piled on top of her, Sun finally had enough and told her that she was in no way obligated to spend time with the people around them. He’d seemed so guilty, not noticing the depths of her discomfort until so much time had passed, and sent her home. 

(Though, she’d made sure that he knew there was no reason for feeling so bad when it was _Weiss_ who wanted to stick around. Even though she had felt out of place, she was at least with people who didn’t seem to mind her company, she at least wasn’t _alone._ )

And that just sent her down another spiral by the time she made it to her new apartment, thinking of her old residence and the feel of the Schnee Manor. The smell... sickeningly sweet, cold and clean and uncomfortable. She remembered it, feeling as though if she were to walk outside, or even stick a hesitant hand out of the window that it might become encased in ice—a burning feeling in her skin telling her that she was _not allowed to do that._

She never quite grew out of it, but she was better now at least.

Running to Patch had proven _that_ , at least.

But she couldn’t stop thinking about that wretched, wretched place. What must have been a home once infected with the whims of her father, corrupted by greed and entitlement—saturated in _selfishness_.

Which led her to what she was doing now.

Watching the walls. 

A sneer worked her way onto her face, she must’ve finally bit the bullet and gone insane. The windows were open, the moonlight draping into the room, hitting the wall and turning everything almost blue or purple. It lavished the empty apartment in it’s hues, and Weiss couldn’t help the way her shoulders relaxed when faced with it. 

The walls were fine, for now.

She sat on the lawn chair Sun had let her borrow, leaning against the palm of her hand and adjusting her headphones. If her mind would not rest until she sat throughout the night watching the walls, she was at least going to be moderately entertained by doing so.

A soft crooning began to sing into her ears, her back almost slumping into the chair as she managed to keep from making a wounded noise.

A bang startled her out of her quiet revere, and when Weiss wrenched the headphones from herself she heard a muffled groan of pain coming through her front door.

Weiss blinked, getting to her feet and heading towards it, she hesitated for a moment—her hand on the doorknob—but pushed through her own discomfort and opened up the door.

“Ah.” She frowned for a moment, a tiny, hardly noticeable thing. Weiss was not in the right mindset to be entertaining others, and she already knew she didn’t want to be rude to her. She swallowed the lump in her throat, doing her best to sound as cordial as humanly possible. “Hello, Ruby.”

One arm was clutching a small potted cactus to her chest, the other reaching down to her foot. Weiss almost smiled, it looked like she’d smacked it against the wall of the hallway.

“Hi!” Ruby croaked out, too awkward to simply leave and too awkward to really try and talk to her. She seemed trapped, unsure of what would be worse—abruptly running from the apartment or actually forcing herself to converse with her. It was almost cute, the deer in headlights, _‘oh no I’m stuck’_ look on her face. 

She found herself reluctantly charmed when Ruby bounced on the balls of her feet, and Weiss felt her mouth curve upward at the sight. It was oddly nice, to see her after all the stress she’d felt, and even as she tried to shove the unknown emotion bubbling inside of her down Weiss couldn’t help but smile a little more at her.

“Hello.” Weiss said again, and her voice almost bordered on teasing.

Ruby made a noise in the back of her throat, a mix between a whine and groan, and shifted in place—still obviously awkward, but looking less like she was going to flee the second Weiss looked away.

She watched her a moment, expression soft.

Whitley had told her to take care, hadn’t he? 

To take care of _her_ , of _them_ , of it _all_ —to smooth away the wrinkles of their small problems, to keep their walls standing and unblemished. Such a tall order for people she hardly knew, such an awful promise for her brother to convince her to give. And he _had_ convinced her to give it to him, they both knew that the second he asked that Weiss would cave, no amount of grandstanding and protesting would change that. He had asked Weiss to keep their souls untouched by wickedness for him, already knowing that she would become involved with Ruby one way or another, already knowing that her attachment to his friend would only serve him more in the future.

An acidic ball of something bubbled up from her stomach to her chest, and though the bitterness of it seemed to taint all thoughts of him—of those who belonged to him—she couldn’t help but notice that itty bitty feeling of warmth that came when Ruby looked at her.

_Oh._

Oh, she was a _goner_ , wasn’t she?

Her brows furrowed for a moment, before reluctantly smoothing out. She could only hope that whatever _this_ was, whatever she found herself so easily swayed by, it wasn’t something that could be maliciously used against her. Besides, it couldn’t be that much of a big deal—it was only the soft stirrings of fondness in her chest—a reluctant admiration for Ruby’s odd charm. It would not get in the way of her dream, it would not make things harder for her. 

Weiss would make sure of it.

In the face of what she sought to create for herself, nothing was more important than her focus.

“Are you alright?” Weiss asked her, managing to sound genuinely concerned. She ignored that she only sounded that way because she _was_ in fact very much concerned for Ruby, and decided to pretend that she didn’t feel that way. (It wasn’t going very well, if she was being frank.)

“Uhhhh.” Ruby squeaked. “Yeah? I mean, _yeah_ , yeah I’m a-okay! Totally fine and not in any pain at all, pshh.” She awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck, shifting uncomfortably. “Totally not feeling weird or anything, no ma’am.”

Weiss watched her for a moment, feeling dubious for a moment. She looked away, fighting the urge to let out a heaving sigh. “Well I’m very glad to hear that.”

“Hahaha!” Ruby laughed, though it sounded rather pained. “I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not.”

“Neither can I, if I’m being quite honest.” Weiss said semi-honestly, her expression of cool disinterest not changing except for the amused wrinkles around her eyes. She crossed her arms, leaning against the doorway and raising a brow, silently asking Ruby what she had been doing.

“I uh.” Ruby shifted, tugging on the strings to her hoodie. She tentatively gestured with the plant in her hand, smiling sheepishly. “I got you a housewarming gift?”

“A tiny cactus.” Weiss said, fascinated. She couldn’t help but lean a little closer to get a better look at it. 

How fitting.

“Er... yeah.” Ruby said, and when Weiss looked up at her she noticed that her cheeks were stained pink. “I mean Yang always says that plants liven up homes—” Ruby began to ramble, averting her gaze and looking very embarrassed, “—and I couldn’t ethically give you a plant that might need a lot of care so I thought, _‘Hey why not a cactus? They’re pretty cute little dudes’_ and here we are.” Ruby managed to cut herself off there, smiling a bit more genuinely when she saw the look on Weiss’ face. 

A soft stirring of fondness licked at her chest, warming her. It was surprising, how easily this woman had managed to endear herself to Weiss—how quick she’d been to lash out at Ruby when the knowledge of how her brother had truly cared for his friends made itself known to Weiss. With that call from Whitley came a promise she’d made to herself, to not alienate Ruby any more than she had.

She’d expected it to be simple, act cordial with her—make polite conversation, becoming nothing more than an acquaintance to her. Weiss had miscalculated however, she’d not for a second thought that Ruby may do the same, to prove that there were no harsh feelings by bringing her a _cactus_ of all things.

“You like it?” Ruby asked with confidence, though there was no hiding the nervous look in her eyes.

 _Was this a peace offering?_ Weiss wondered, watching for a moment. Something told her that she should feel angry, annoyed, anything other than surprised—but there was no harm in housewarming gift, was there? It was just a cactus, tiny and spiky—a fitting gift for her. 

She’d sworn to be kinder to Ruby, hadn’t she? There was no harm in taking a _cactus._

“Thank you.” Weiss said, and managed a small smile. She felt... awkward. “I will do all the appropriate research in how to take care of it.” She swore solemnly, unsure of what else to say.

Ruby raised her eyebrows for a moment, before grinning widely. “Glad you’re taking it so seriously.” She said through a laugh, moving to hand over the cactus. “Here you go—” Ruby yelped, slipping over what looked like nothing.

Weiss reacted before she thinks it through, setting a hand on Ruby’s shoulder to steady her and using her other one to grab Ruby’s palm to prevent the cactus from falling. They blink at each other for a moment, Ruby still wobbling a little and Weiss barely managing to keep herself from openly gaping. She shook off her daze quickly, coughing awkwardly and trying to ignore how much taller Ruby was than her.

“Oh dear.” She murmured quietly, when she averted her gaze, eyes landing on the source for Ruby’s clumsiness. 

Her shoelaces were untied.

(Weiss almost laughed.)

Ruby blinked, looking down at where their hands were touching and then to her shoulder where Weiss was still gripping her. Her brain seemed to visibly short circuit for a moment, and she jumped away as though burned, her face pink as she said apology after apology. “Sorry, sorry, sorry—”

Weiss blinked for a moment, wondering why her hands felt as though they were burning, before shaking it off. She looked up at Ruby, not quite being able to muster up a smile but managing to smooth her expression into something calmer. “It’s quite alright, no harm done.” She waved away her words, gesturing to the cactus still in Ruby’s hands, “It seems as though my cactus is fine, therefore so am I.”

“ _Still—_ ”

“If anything I should be apologizing.” Weiss interjected easily, not quite wanting to test the limits of Ruby’s apologetic nature. She was too tired for this, too tired to be annoyed or angry or anything else. 

“What?” Ruby blinked. “ _Why_?”

“I did touch you without your consent.” Weiss pointed out, raising a brow. “That warrants an apology, I think.”

“To keep me from falling _on top_ of you.” Ruby said, beginning to frown. She looked aghast, as though Weiss even suggesting that she was owed an apology was a personal affront. “I don’t think you need to say sorry.”

“Well if I can’t say sorry for this, you can’t say sorry for that.” Weiss pointed out, pursing her lips and placing her hands on her hips as she shot her a slight glare. “It’s only fair.”

“Ughh, no it isn’t.” Ruby moaned out, rubbing at her face lethargically. “You’re _so_ stubborn, you don’t need to say sorry—”

“I think I can decide what I need and don’t need to say, thank you very much.” Weiss couldn’t stop the scowl from rising onto her face, the bite in her tone unmistakable. 

“I didn’t mean it like that.” She said, sounding exasperated, and pursed her lips. “Gosh, Weiss, you really know how to turn everything into an insult.”

“It’s a gift.” Weiss snarled, and then paused, moving to pinch the bridge of her nose. “I am _attempting_ to be less... difficult, so if you can please refrain from saying things that can be perceived as an insult while I try and... loosen up when it comes to them it would be much appreciated.”

“Oh.” Ruby blinked. “For real?”

Weiss fought the urge to snap back at her, taking a deep breath and nodding. “Yes.” She crossed her arms around herself, looking away. “Besides, I do need to talk to you.”

“Oh.” Ruby furrowed her brows, leaning backward in surprise. “What is it?”

Weiss looked around the hall, it seemed empty enough, but she didn’t want to take a chance like that with something that she saw as this important. She understood that Patch was a very different environment than what she was used to in Atlas, but it never hurt to take precautions. “Would you mind speaking with me in private for a moment?”

“Oh, uh, sure.” She shifted awkwardly as Weiss moved out of the way of the door, gesturing for her to come in.

Weiss grimaced a little, leading her to the small living room and turning on the light. She sighed, her back to Ruby, and forced herself to think about what she was about to say. Gathering her courage, she turned to face her, narrowing her eyes. “My brother.”

“Uh. Can, can I sit down?” Ruby stuttered out, tripping over her words. She looked wholly unprepared for what she was about to hear, her slightly stricken face would have been slightly amusing in any other circumstance. (Though mostly the expression mostly tugged at her heartstrings, something that she was not very comfortable admitting to herself.)

“Feel free.” Weiss said, gesturing to one of the lawn chairs that Sun had allowed her to borrow. She moved to sit down in the one across from it; she didn’t want Ruby to feel as though this was some sort of lecture. “So my brother.” She began again.

“Yeah?” Ruby asked, wiggling in the chair in an attempt to get comfortable.

Her lips quirked as she leaned backward into her seat, crossing one knee over the other and trying to gather up the dwindling remnants of her professionalism. “You mentioned me to him.”

“Ah, yeah I did.” Ruby admitted sheepishly, averting her gaze and gripping the cactus tighter to her chest. Weiss fought the urge to reach out and take it back from her, instead trying to focus on the odd look on Ruby’s face while she tried to formulate a response. “You—you got a hold of him, then? That’s good right? I mean—”

“Not quite.” Weiss interrupted with a tight smile. “Anyway, we had the most _interesting_ conversation, him and I.” She laughed, and it was bitter enough for Ruby to flinch away from. Her lips twitched downward as she cleared her throat, and Weiss forced herself to get back on track. “We talked, and he made some excellent points, much as I hate to admit it... though even the stupidest of idiots has a bright idea once in a while.”

“Uh, okay.” Ruby squeaked out.

Weiss fiddled with the headphones around her neck. “I wanted to apologize.” She admitted softly, trying to ignore the flustered blush in her cheeks. She hated the surge of self-disgust that ran rampant inside of her at that one statement. It was almost too much to stand, the way she was at war with herself.

A part of her hated that she had exposed herself like this, in an apology, how _weak_ it made her feel when it was for something that felt _important._ It was a sickening type of anger, one born of entitlement and the furious leech on her soul that came when she thought of her father. The second part of her despised the fact that she had needed to do one in the first place, that her behavior might have been deplorable enough for her to _need_ to address it.

Ruby made it so _hard_ for her, she thought morosely. She was _kind_ , she didn’t deserve to be made a fool of—and Weiss had been... less than compliant when it came to most interactions with her. She had _tried_ , _of course_ she had _tried_ , but it hadn’t been right for her to try and leave it at that—a silent struggle to keep herself from antagonizing Ruby.

She knew that she ought to be proud of herself for even making the attempt, knew that in the past she wouldn’t have even _bothered_ —but her past self was not someone she liked to think about. All that entitlement, that sense of superiority, that need for absolute perfection; not all of it was gone, but those personality traits didn’t cloud her vision as much anymore.

Weiss was... well she had been quite the rotten person, hadn’t she?

There had been the good parts of course, there were always good things if you knew where to look for them, but there had been enough bad... enough of it to make it so she was _trying_ to be a better person.

And that all began with an apology.

Ruby didn’t seem to be in the loop, her eyes wide and face confused. “For... what..?” She trailed off, frowning for a moment and putting her hand on her chin in thought. “Did you say something mean to me? Did I just not get it?” She actually looked kind of... hurt, to a degree.

“I am apologizing for the events in which I was...” She laughed, shaking her head. “I was, as Sun likes to adequately put it, a huge bitch—”

“Oh gee.” Ruby murmured, eyes wide.

“—and I wanted to remedy that with an apology... So.” Weiss twitched. “Here I am.” She grimaced, trying not to show how obviously uncomfortable she was. “Apologizing.”

This was both harder and easier than she thought it would be. Actually saying the words wasn’t so bad, but making it obvious that she _meant_ them, making sure that Ruby knew she was being genuine? _That_ was the most difficult thing about the apology in question. She could say the words as much as she wanted, at the end of the day it didn’t matter if she said it once or one hundred, if Ruby didn’t think she was being sincere then what was the point?

Ruby stared, eyes alight with something that Weiss didn’t quite recognize.

She swallowed nervously, averting her gaze.

“You...” Ruby started, breathless laughter escaping her mouth, making Weiss wince. “Thanks.”

“Right.” Weiss said, looking back up at her and feeling altogether far too shaken. Ruby was _grinning_ at her, a wide, unending smile that looked as though it had been stitched together by the sun and it’s stars. The indents in her cheeks looked far too captivating, and for a moment she wondered what it would feel like to press her fingers to them. Weiss felt herself flush, and choked, “You can go now if you’d like.”

Ruby’s smile faltered for a moment. “Wait—that’s all?”

“Well, yes.” Weiss said, leaning forward in her seat and feeling too twitchy for this conversation. She considered how she’d said sorry for a moment, furrowing her brow as she tried to find what she’d done wrong. “Did I do it incorrectly? If so—”

“No, no, your apology was fine.” Ruby hastily reassured her, an amused little smile on her face. “Just... kind of abrupt, and unexpected, I guess.”

Weiss latched onto the last thing she’d said, desperate to change the subject in any way she could. “I’m not terribly predictable, Ruby Rose, I would have assumed you learned that by now.”

Ruby paused for a moment. “You talk with really big words and it’s really intimidating sometimes.”

“Apologies—” She winced. “Er, sorry.”

“I didn’t mean to say that out loud.” Ruby laughed out, ducking her head as her cheeks flushed. “I only meant that... well, that the way you talk is very strong, I guess? I mean it’s totally admirable, but to someone like me who can barely string a sentence together without tripping over herself... it’s a bit scary, how capable you are at things.”

“Capable?” Weiss asked her softly, barely managing not to release an undignified squeak. 

“Yeah.” Ruby looked back up at her, smiling. “You’re really... powerful? Uh, strong, I think?”

“Well...” Weiss twitched awkwardly again, her face so hot you could probably cook something on it. “I think that’s it.” She nodded to herself, scrambling to find a topic of conversation, she turned her head, noticing the shabby walls that she’d been watching before Ruby had come in. “Right, so these are the walls—”

“You’re really bad at this.” Ruby noted, leaning back into her chair while she smiled at her softly.

“I’ve noticed.” Weiss said dryly, narrowing her eyes and crossing her arms. “It’s not as though you have any room to talk.”

“ _Hey_ —wait, actually that’s fair.” Ruby pouted, throwing her arms playfully in the air and sulking. “Meanie.”

Weiss pursed her lips, trying not to look more annoyed than she already was. (Which was quite a lot. There was a great deal of annoyance going on.) “Quite.”

Ruby looked at her for a moment, her expression slackening a little. Immediately she was on alert, from what she could tell from her limited time spent with Ruby Rose, she had inferred it wasn’t often she looked so serious about something. She made a nervous little sound, reaching up and pulling at one of her dark locks of hair. Ruby looked... scared? 

“Weiss? I know that...” She pursed her lips, averting her gaze. “I know that you said _no_ before and I don’t want to keep pressing or make you uncomfortable but—”

Weiss felt herself soften, the iron grip on her emotions slipping, for just a second.

“—do you think that... I don’t know, maybe we can get along? We don’t have to even be friends—”

“Ruby.” Weiss interrupted quietly, not quite prepared for the determined blaze in her eyes when she finally turned to look at her again. Weiss swallowed, blinking for a moment and fighting the urge to run away. “I... yes, I suppose what you are proposing is... _good_.”

_(Was that really all she could manage? Just how hopeless was she?)_

“Yeah?” Ruby asked, smiling at her hopefully.

“Yes.” Weiss said, too quickly. “I mean, you’re my brother’s friend.” She murmured, forcing down the blush in her cheeks. “It would be... _cruel_ of me to antagonize you because of that fact alone.”

“Really!?” She looked far more excited than before, eyes sparkling so brightly that for a moment Weiss wondered if she’d actually go blind from that sight alone.

“Yes,” Weiss said, sounding a bit full of herself, “now I have to draw up my _own_ justifications to annoy you.” There, that was how people who were getting along talked, right?

“I’ll give it as good as I get, y’know.” Ruby said, semi-serious but not being quite able to hide the bright grin that stretched across her face.

“I look forward to it.” Weiss found herself smiling back, a tiny thing—barely there and barely visible, but one of the most genuine smiles she’d had in a while.

Ruby seemed to take notice of it, the small, almost meaningless smile; her cheeks turning a bright red as she coughed into her fist. “What were you listening to, anyway?” She asked, quite obviously scrambling.

“ _Winterreise_.” Weiss replied quietly, reaching up to grab her at her headphones.

“Sun told me about that one, it’s your favorite opera, right?” Ruby asked.

“I do enjoy it, yes.” Weiss said, ignoring the fact that apparently Sun and Ruby had talked about her at one point. She was dreadfully curious, but she didn’t think that Ruby would appreciate the question much. “I was thinking about changing it up, however... I do not wish to hear _Der Leiermann_ on this night.”

“Oh!” Ruby gasped out.

Weiss frowned. “Oh?”

“ _Oh_!” Ruby grinned. “You speak Common so well I forgot you were from Atlas, your voice when you said the... er, d-der leiermann?” She frowned, trying to sound it out before giving up. “Well, when you said that I could hear your accent.”

“Ah.” Weiss fiddled with the end of her ponytail, feeling unsure. “...apologies?”

“Oh no, no that’s not how I meant it—” Ruby hastened to reassure her, waving her arms in front of her face. “—I just uh, I really liked your voice so I was trying to point that out, you know that it sounded, uh, pretty I guess? But I totally bungled up my words again and—”

“It’s quite alright.” Weiss said, not managing to hide her soft laughter. “You’re fine.”

It was quiet for a long moment, neither of them saying anything to each other. For a second, the two of them were just sitting there; plopped onto lawn chairs in the sparse apartment that Weiss had managed to wrangle for herself. Right then, in that silence, the two of them were more to each other than the other knew. Their relationship was a great wave, loud and grand—large and powerful at the beginning, but the moment that it crashed onto a beach it became smaller than small; reaching so hopelessly for the mainland, a place it would never manage to reach.

(A place it would never manage to saturate with it’s water, with it’s waves.)

In that quiet, the only sounds the soft crooning of _Winterreise_ from her headphones that Weiss could honestly just barely hear, they morphed into something they weren’t; became calm in the face of an inevitable storm. It was easy, in that moment, to acknowledge that their relationship had the potential to become something different, other.

(More.)

And then the moment passed.

“Um.” Ruby started, almost making Weiss jump in surprise. The silence had pervaded everything, seeping into each of her senses, she’d known that Ruby was there, but she hadn’t remembered that she had the capacity to break the quiet. Ruby coughed awkwardly. “Should I go now?”

“If you wish.” Weiss managed out, her voice a little strained as she lifted her chin a little and tried to look as though she _hadn’t_ just been thrown off her equilibrium. She felt shaky and scared, the possibility for _more_ —(more of what _exactly_ she didn’t know)—had made itself open to her. She didn’t know what to _do_ , and that made her feel off balance and out of her depth.

“You aren’t busy or anything?” Ruby asked, and it might have sounded hopeful but Weiss was far too stuck in her own head to really make it out.

“That depends on your definition of busy.” Weiss replied coolly, somehow managing to act like everything was fine despite the fact that she felt something warm burning into her chest; dark imprints into her skin, fire seeping into melting muscle and turning her ribs charcoal black. This was familiar, it felt _familiar_ , but it was still something new; fresh and unexplored.

“What were you doing before this?” Ruby drew her left knee to her chest, crossing her right ankle under it, slightly battered running shoes dangling from odd angles. It was an odd way to sit in a lawn chair, but Weiss assumed it was only her way of getting more comfortable. 

“...Wall watching.” Weiss said after a moment, turning her head away from Ruby and toward the wall before closing her eyes. She leaned onto her hand, covering up herself so she didn’t quite have to look at her.

“Wall watching?” Ruby asked, sounding as though she was about to tell a really bad joke. “Don’t your eyes have to be _open_ for that?”

“Perhaps.” Weiss almost snorted, hiding her face deeper into the palm of her hand. “I have to make sure they stay like this at night, no creaking or any noises.”

“I don’t mean to beat a dead horse.” Ruby began. “But I’m pretty sure that you have to actually be _listening_ to notice anything like that.”

Weiss allowed herself to open an eye, watching Ruby from the corner of her gaze. “Don’t be cheeky, Miss Rose, it’s not as cute as you think it is.”

Ruby let out an embarrassed groan, pulling up her hood and pressing her forehead to her knee. When she spoke her voice came out muffled, and it was more charming than Weiss expected it to be. “For the love of all that’s holy _please_ just call me by my name.” 

“If that pleases her majesty.” Weiss snorted, closing her eyes again as she concentrated on trying not to laugh. She managed alright, her gaze finding Ruby once more, who was groaning into the material of her pants.

“Oh, haha, very funny—” Ruby looked up at her, glowering. “—for a _court jester_.”

“A _court jester_?” Weiss asked her, almost offended. She rather thought that she was worth a little more than a _court jester._ “Well at least _I’m_ entertaining, as opposed to _you_ —”

“Fine, fine.” Ruby rolled her eyes, finally peeking over her knee as she glared out at Weiss, her hair sticking out at odd angles from beneath the red hood. “Would you like it better if I called you princess?”

“Oh you _insufferable_ little—” She groaned into the palm of her hand, cutting herself off. “ _Ugh_.”

Ruby laughed smugly, shooting her a triumphant little grin. “I _told_ you if you tried anything I’d fight back, right?”

“Shush.” Weiss moaned out. “Listening to you talk only depleted what little brain cells I have left.”

“I don’t know why you’re complaining, it’s not like that’s a whole lot, so—”

Weiss let out another loud groan.

“So, wall watching.” Ruby said over her, voice less teasing than before. “It’s important to you?”

Weiss met her eyes, making sure that Ruby understood exactly how serious she was taking it. She may be spiraling into a familial crisis induced abyss but it wasn’t like she was going to do anything in halves. If this was happening she’d make sure she’d do it in a way that was at the very least satisfying. “Extremely.”

Ruby watched her, eyes tentative. “Does it have to be done alone?”

That question, why did she have to ask _that_ question? She’d been by herself when dealing with these things—(dealing with the complications of her family)—for what felt like _centuries._ Weiss knew that in the face of the dark, of unending cold and ice, the warmest of lights could be found in the smile of another person; in the presence nearby. It didn’t take away the darkness, didn’t shine so brightly as to evaporate everything, but it was just enough of a strong glow so that if Weiss were walking forward, she’d at least be able to see a couple of steps ahead.

Ruby’s eyes, intense and luminous, the brightest of lights in their own right, stayed glued to her own; quiet and watching. Radiant.

Weiss—so starved of that kind of look from anyone else, so desperate for people who had the potential to care for her in her life—succumbed to the shine in Ruby’s gaze, slipped under, as though she were the ocean and Weiss were being pulled further down; into an ironic darkness.

And Weiss couldn’t help herself.

“Having another person may be... useful, in this case.” She managed out.

“So I’m not useful in any other case?” Ruby asked, lightening the atmosphere with a pretend look of hurt.

“I’m afraid not.” Weiss said, her voice a rasp. “I just suppose you’ll have to live with that.”

“Ah, so mean to me.” Ruby sighed out, dramatically draping herself over her lawn chair. “I might die, Weiss, you might give me a _heart attack._ ”

She fought the urge to scoff, and continued to play along, bowing her head. “I offer my most sincere apologies, Miss Rose.”

“Pfft, I’m sure you’re _very_ sorry.” Ruby said teasingly, but she was blushing up to her ears. “My name is Ruby.”

“I offer my most sincere apologies, _Ruby_.” Weiss said without skipping a beat, bowing her head again and making sure that her voice came out the exact same way as last time.

“Oh god that was even _worse_ —” She made a noise like her brain was melting, leaning far back into her chair and covering her red face with her hands. 

Weiss couldn’t help it, she laughed. “How many apologies must you wring from my poor, poor, person?” She asked, not quite pouting but doing something close.

“Ugghhhh.” Ruby groaned. “You’re unfair—no wonder...” She mumbled something else after that, words that she couldn’t quite make out. 

Weiss’ lips twitched upward.

They talked for a while, after that. Ruby enjoyed talking, but she also seemed to enjoy listening to _Weiss_ talk—which was kind of a novel concept. Weiss had very little people in her life who would avidly listen to her if she ever decided to ramble on about something. She wondered when Ruby had become one, wondered if that was just how Ruby was—kindness shining from every action she took. Giving and giving and giving.

And _oh_ , how Weiss wanted to _take_ ; oh how she _wanted_ , how her guilty heart desired to take a piece of Ruby and keep it there, nestled comfortably in her ribs, laughing in tandem to the beat of her very own heart. 

But Ruby had given _so much_ , it seemed. So much that Weiss could barely fathom the amount that she’d received since she’d met her. 

So it was tentative, the way that Weiss took a part of herself and for one of the very rare times in her life _gave._

“Whitley was always strange when we vacationed here.” Weiss said, because surely Ruby would want to hear about him, surely she’d accept a gift—a nugget of information about her friend right for the taking, if only she’d allow it to be presented to her.

She waited for Ruby to ask how so.

“I thought you were gonna tell me about that opera.” Ruby said instead, pouting. “We can talk about your brother afterward, if you want.”

“Ah.” Weiss was very much caught off guard, she looked down at her hands, as though they were broken, unsteady things. Had her gift been slapped away? Or... perhaps... “Apologies.” She murmured, “Let me tell you of ‘the magic flute,’ yes?”

“Yes!” Ruby grinned broadly. “You’re weirdly good at telling stories, y’know? I’m just finding this out now, so it’s like a tiny treat...” She paused, “That makes sense, right?”

“Yes.” Weiss agreed, managing not to sound choked up. “It makes much sense.” She grimaced, ignoring the way her accent had been all the more prevalent in the last words she had said. "I mean it makes a lot of sense."

Weiss thought that that moment was the very first time that Ruby had chosen her over Whitley. She had decided that becoming friends with Weiss would not strain Ruby’s connection to Whitley long ago; why had Weiss only been made known of this notion? Had she been to blind to see it? Had she not wanted to?

Had she instead changed since arriving here, in this moment, had she blossomed into someone similar to what she thought was herself, but was too unrecognizable when scrutinized for longer than a second?

Ruby had fallen asleep, adjusted awkwardly in that lawn chair, her soft breaths striking Weiss like the sound of music. Her hand was curled up on the floor, almost cupping the tiny potted cactus, protective of the gift even in sleep.

Weiss takes in her features, once, twice, and before succumbing to her exhaustion thinks: _Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schön._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes i was craving mangoneada while writing this chapter, how did you know? i know that technically not all taquerias have a lil ice cream section but let's pretend maria calavera has it made, okay? she's fuckin ballin
> 
> also, Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schön — “this image is enchantingly beautiful/lovely” a song from the magic flute in which the main character tamino sings of how pretty pamina is (the queen of night's daughter) i wanted the magic flute to play more of a part in this chapter, but i've only listened to it once and don't know it well enough to really implement it properly so it might make more of a splash next chapter if i muster up the creative energy to read and listen to it.
> 
> anyway, cactus giving - truly the height of romance... i was gonna make weiss give it a name but all i could come up with was 'spike the cactus' and as cute as that is i know there's gotta be another one i might like, so i'm still considering.


	7. I was meant to love you II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Why in the world was she still here?_
> 
> Weiss didn’t have the answer for that, furrowing her brows as she ignored the rapid racing of her unsteady heart. Her hands shook as she pressed a palm to her chest, trying to calm herself. It was quickly becoming harder and harder to control, the lump in her throat rising as she fought the sting in her eyes. (How would her tears stream down her face, in a burst of hot lava—burning her cheeks with their blistering warmth, or would they escape from her eyes frozen, squeezing out of her tear ducts in discomfort and numbing her skin with their chill?) She tried to look at the situation logically, listing the events one after another in her mind that had led to this. 
> 
> They had been talking about... a lot of things, opera and stories and random mundane topics Ruby seemed to pull out of thin air. Then Weiss remembered getting tired, remembered Ruby doing the same, with her hand curled around the small potted cactus and her face smoothing out in the light of the moon—
> 
> _Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schön._
> 
> _This image is enchantingly lovely._
> 
> Ah. Weiss blinked. _Right._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the summer is officially over my dudes, updates will probably be a bit shorter and later to come out :(

Weiss woke with a start, her hands clenched tightly around the arms of her lawn chair, her fingers stiff. She didn't move at first, her mind silently processing what she had dreamed, the wisps of phantom pain keeping her frozen in place. Her shoulders shook as she leaned forward, lifting a palm to her face—cupping her left eye as she very quietly struggled with controlling herself. It wouldn’t do to be too noisy, not at that moment.

Especially not since Ruby Rose was snoozing away in the lawn chair beside her, blissfully unaware of her surroundings.

Lucky girl.

A surge of jealousy warmed her frigid bones, oh would it would be like, so calm in her sleep—no tossing and turning or stiff awkward jerks of pain that should have long since left her body. She was first and foremost a woman of Atlas, long since accustomed to the chill of the cold and bite of ice, but that night clung to her like frost. It gnawed into her limbs, chewing at her fingertips and crawling up her arms and down her spine, as though it sought to freeze her body entirely.

She blinked, swallowing the lump that had risen in her throat and carefully pried herself out of her seat. It would do no good to dwell on dreams, especially on the bad ones. Discomfort radiated from her body as she shakily attempted to stand, back and legs aching while she stumbled to her feet. A shuddering sigh escaped her mouth, and for a moment the vertigo was too much for her.

Ruby made a noise, the mixture of a yawn and snore, and Weiss felt herself freeze.

She waited for a couple moments to pass before she moved again, turning to look back at Ruby and blinking tiredly at the sight of her. _Why in the world was she still here?_

Weiss didn’t have the answer for that, furrowing her brows as she ignored the rapid racing of her unsteady heart. Her hands shook as she pressed a palm to her chest, trying to calm herself. It was quickly becoming harder and harder to control, the lump in her throat rising as she fought the sting in her eyes. (How would her tears stream down her face, in a burst of hot lava—burning her cheeks with their blistering warmth, or would they escape from her eyes frozen, squeezing out of her tear ducts in discomfort and numbing her skin with their chill?) She tried to look at the situation logically, listing the events one after another in her mind that had led to this. 

They had been talking about... a lot of things, opera and stories and random mundane topics Ruby seemed to pull out of thin air. Then Weiss remembered getting tired, remembered Ruby doing the same, with her hand curled around the small potted cactus and her face smoothing out in the light of the moon—

_Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schön._

_This image is enchantingly lovely._

Ah. Weiss blinked. _Right_.

She pressed the back of her palm to one of her flushed cheeks, grimacing and deciding to escape somewhere private. She quietly moved into the only other room and silently closed the door behind her, looking around at her nearly empty unclaimed bedroom—and then buried her face in her hands. A soft groan escaped her mouth as her back pressed against the door, sliding downwards until she was practically sitting on the floor.

First a nightmare and now _that_? Weiss didn’t know she could ever feel this _mortified_.

She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, glancing out the window and finding that the sun had only just started to rise. Early morning then, she noted. She didn’t know whether or not to feel relieved, on one hand she loved sleeping and would really rather be doing that right now, but on the other it was even more mortifying if Ruby woke up before her.

How confusing.

“Alright.” Weiss murmured to herself softly, taking a moment to catch her breath before she rose back to her feet. “Alright.” She repeated, as though it might keep her from blowing away with the wind. 

She nodded to herself, moving and grabbing a blanket before hesitantly sticking her head out of the bedroom.

Ruby was still sleeping, hair stuck up in odd directions, somehow looking right at home despite the very uncomfortable position she was in. Honestly, her arms and legs ached from just _looking_ at how Ruby was strewn across the lawn chair. How she looked so blissful as she snoozed the time away was something that eluded her.

Weiss narrowed her eyes in annoyance, but silently walked out, taking the blanket and carefully setting it over her. It was colder in this apartment then the rest of the buildings, something that while Weiss might appreciate, others would not. She leaned back, setting her hands on her hips and nodding to herself, she’d managed to get the blanket on her without actually touching her.

She paused for a moment, her eyes lingering on Ruby’s face, before she shook it off, moving past her and toward the windows. The light from the sun was streaming in, and while Weiss didn’t exactly know how she _felt_ about the fact that Ruby was sleeping in her living room, she didn’t want to disturb her. 

Ugh. _Sentimentality_.

Weiss closed the blinds with a sneer, and then left the living room to find some spare clothes. Sighing, she grabbed a skirt and a shirt that Sun had gifted her the day before. Deciding that she had too many ‘fancy’ clothes he’d insisted on updating her wardrobe with random articles of clothing—the overly large top being the first one. She suspected that the shirt (which read, Xiao Long Construction Company) was an old one of his, but had no proof except for the slightly fading logo. 

If she was going to have to deal with... whatever it was that was happening, she was going to be clean from a shower and in a relatively comfortable looking t-shirt. Nothing could change her mind.

She slipped into the bathroom, locking the door behind her and pausing.

What does one even _do_ when another accidentally spends the night? Was there some sort of protocol Weiss should be following? Perhaps a guest-host sort of situation she’d seen done in the parties her family had thrown? She pursed her lips, rubbing at her chin pensively as she turned on the water. It wasn’t as though she could interrupt Sun’s sleeping with something so baseless, not to mention she was sure that many others had found themselves stowing away in his apartment. Wouldn’t it be... awkward?

What if Sun got the wrong idea about what had happened? 

She felt... uncomfortably embarrassed by the thought.

Weiss shook herself from her thoughts, and slipped into her shower. The water pressure wasn’t exactly great but she had too much on her mind to really dwell on it too much. After fighting the urge to scream, and mustering up the energy to do more than just stand there silently as the water beat down on her, she finished her shower, drying herself off and putting on her clothes.

She sighed, combing her hair out a little and decided to leave it down for a while. Weiss hadn’t exactly had the time to take her hair out of the ponytail while she was sleeping, after all, and there was a subtle throb in her head that she knew would only get worse if she put it up as tightly as usual. And she had no real desire to put it into something loose, it felt... sloppy, especially with company over. She absently found herself reciting what had been ingrained in her since birth— _a Schnee is never not cordial and appropriate in all things._

After brushing her teeth she walked out of the bathroom, almost forgetting for a moment that Ruby was still sleeping in the living room.

Her eyes went wide. 

Right.

She’d have to fix that somehow.

...maybe after breakfast.

That seemed fair right? She looked down at her watch. It was only about seven thirty, and they had gone to sleep late, hadn’t they? 

(How she herself had woken up so early was honestly a mystery, considering the fact that she had not set an alarm.)

Weiss had no idea what she was doing, grimacing when Ruby made to move again.

Breakfast and coffee first. She decided. If she was going to have to be interacting with someone this early in the morning she would need at least those. The only problem with that was the only type of food she had in her apartment were the box of saltine crackers she’d bought from a dollar store and the nearest coffee maker was in Sun’s apartment.

“ _Shit_.” She sighed very quietly to herself, and decided to eat a handful of crackers anyway. She’d probably have to go shopping today, she thought with increasing sorrow. Weiss would really rather just spend the day with Sun’s dogs. 

She sat defeatedly in front of the tiny plastic table that came with the apartment, head in her hands, before she decided that if she really was going to have to wake up Ruby and send her away now, she should at least have the comfort of listening to her opera. When she got up and moved up and toward where she’d left her CDs. 

(She also made a mental note to maybe figure out how to download the music on her phone because while having CDs of her favorite operas was very much fun it probably wasn’t at all as practical as Weiss needed to be. Perhaps when she was finished with her business on Patch, when the opera house was completed and she’d finally grown into her own, she could go back to collecting them. That sounded fun.)

After grabbing the player from her bedroom, she walked back toward the living room, only to find Ruby blinking blearily up at her.

“Um.” She said through a yawn, pushing the hair out of her forehead and only somehow making it more messy than before. Ruby looked down at herself, tiredly eyeing the blanket that Weiss had thrown on top of her before looking back up—expression confused. “Hi?”

“Oh, you’re awake.” Weiss noted, fidgeting suddenly. She felt... decidedly uncomfortable. “It’s only a little before eight o’clock, so I’m sure that if you had any pressing things you need to do this morning you won’t be late—”

“I’m so sorry!” Ruby shouted out immediately, stumbling out of the lawn chair and almost slipping on the discarded blanket. Hastily, she folded up and set it on the seat, seeing the cactus on the floor and hurrying to pick it up. She turned back to face Weiss, her cheeks flushed deeply. “Sorry.” She squeaked out again.

It took her a moment to process exactly what had happened, looking between Ruby and the cactus a couple of times before her brain had the mental capacity to construct a response. “What?” (It wasn’t a very good response.)

“I accidentally fell asleep last night even though I didn’t mean to and I probably totally overstayed my welcome and I am super duper sorry about it, Weiss! Like seriously I should have said something when I was starting to feel drowsy but you were talking so excitedly about the magic flute and it was such an interesting story and I was super comfortable which is _also_ super weird because I’m pretty sure that those chairs were made by the evilest furniture designer of all time—”

“You’re fine.” Weiss interrupted, sighing and reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose. She swallowed the lump in her throat, tiredly looking up into Ruby’s eyes and tried to convey as much sincerity as she could in her voice. “I... I fell asleep as well, so you aren’t the only one to blame.”

“Oh.” Ruby blinked, Weiss’ response seeming to take the wind from her sails. She brushed her hair back with a nervous hand, fiddling with one of the red ends as she shifted in place nervously. “You did?”

“Yes.” _Obviously._

Ruby narrowed her eyes. “So you didn’t sleep on your bed?”

“No.” Weiss said, blinking after a moment and wondering why that was significant.

“But you look so pretty today?” Ruby sounded completely flabbergasted, her shoulders slumping a little as she stared at Weiss in apparent disbelief.

“Excuse me?” Weiss asked, growing increasingly perplexed.

“Oh, um, I meant to say you looked like you slept well, y’know? Because all the people I know look super weird in the mornings all the time when they sleep in places they aren’t used to... Not that I know what a lot of people look like in the morning or anything! Only my sister and my dad and sometimes my uncles—”

“Right.” Weiss said, nodding her head awkwardly. “Of course.” She'd not slept well at all.

“I’m still sorry, though.” Ruby continued, face serious despite the flush in her cheeks. “This was super irresponsible of me, for a lot of reasons.”

“It’s fine.” She reassured quietly. 

A beat passed.

“Um.” Ruby started, looking down at her hands and then holding them out toward her. “Here’s your cactus.”

“Oh?” Weiss asked, crossing her arms and raising an amused brow. “Finally let go of it, have you? You seemed quite attached to the little thing.”

Ruby let out a protesting squawk, but before she could open her mouth to defend herself, the doorbell was ringing. 

A beat of awkwardness passed.

“I’ll get it.” Weiss pursed her lips with a sigh, moving toward the front door with an ease she did not feel. She sort of hoped it was Sun, even though he might be a bit embarrassed about the whole thing at least he’d actually know what to do.

Suffice to say she was disappointed.

Clover Ebi stood outside in the hall, holding two coffees and smiling at her awkwardly. “Good morning, I’m sorry to disturb you but—” He faltered, his eyes falling on something behind her. He blinked. “Ruby?”

“Uncle Clover!” Ruby exclaimed, slipping past Weiss and wrapping the older man into a hug.

“Uncle Clover?” Weiss asked, suddenly wanting very much to die. It was one thing for Ruby to be friends with Whitley, one thing to have to face Clover Ebi with the knowledge that he’d helped Winter escape from their home, it was another thing entirely to find out that they were _related_ somehow.

Ruby grinned back at her, smile faltering for a moment when she saw the look on her face. “Um, Weiss this is—”

"We've met." Weiss stated quietly.

“Hey, Baby Schnee.” Clover sighed out, slumping a little.

Weiss resisted the urge to snarl. Her encounter with him the last time had been pure coincidence, it was clear that this encounter was not the same. “Specialist Ebi.”

“Ah-ha.” He laughed out awkwardly, shifting a little so he didn’t drop his coffees. “So we're doing it that way?”

“You showed up unannounced.” Weiss said simply, twitching in agitation. “Is there truly any other way?”

“Wait, you guys know each other?” Ruby asked, letting go of Clover and tilting her head a little at them both. Her eyes were ever so slightly narrowed. “And did you just call Weiss, _Baby Schnee_?”

“Didn’t your father mention that he knew me by my sister?” Weiss sighed, gesturing to Clover tiredly. What an unpleasant revelation, she grumbled to herself, could she have one day without something reaching out to bug her?

“I mean... maybe? I don’t remember.” Ruby laughed, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly.

“It’s alright, kiddo.” Clover soothed, an easy smile on his face. 

Weiss glared at him, expression slowly growing more and more thunderous. “What are you doing here?” She asked him, hoping that he’d spit out an answer and then _leave_.

“Yeah, actually that’s a really good question...” Ruby noted curiously. “Did Uncle Qrow ask you to look for me or something?”

“Actually, I’m here for the baby.” He gestured to Weiss, smiling at Ruby. When Weiss glowered darkly at him his smile twisted to something much more awkward. He rubbed the back of his head as he laughed a little too loud. “Winter, uh, asked me to check on you.”

“Did she?” Weiss scoffed out. 

“Who’s Winter?” Ruby asked at the same time, blinking cluelessly.

She sighed, crossing her arms tighter around herself. She suddenly felt a great deal more exhausted than before. That was it, she decided, the minute they were gone she was going over to Sun’s house and playing with his dogs. “My older sister.”

“Her name is Winter?” Ruby asked, smiling a little bit, a look of fondness on her face that struck Weiss by surprise. “That’s... _three_ w-names, is that like a running theme, or something?” She turned to her expectantly, grin growing.

Weiss stared for a moment, before turning away. “My mother’s name is Willow.” She admitted quietly, fighting the urge to scoff. “Perhaps she simply wanted us to match.”

Ruby seemed to melt a little. “ _Aww—_ ”

“That’s too cute for your mother.” Clover said, looking at her as though he’d never seen her before. 

Weiss snorted.

Ruby spun on him, hands on her hips as she puffed out her cheeks. “ _Uncle Clover_ you can’t just _say_ something like that—”

“No, he’s probably right.” She admitted with an easy shrug, fighting the urge to scrutinize Clover further. If Winter had known _she_ was here it wasn’t exactly a surprise that she’d managed to track him down too. What _was_ a surprise however, was how exactly Winter had managed to convince him to come and... what was it that he was doing? _Checking on her?_ “So you listened when my sister asked?”

He laughed, a deep, sincere sounding thing that did exactly nothing to soothe her worries. “Well... maybe she didn’t exactly _ask_ —”

“Oh, she threatened you?” Weiss scoffed, raising a brow. “That certainly sounds like her.”

Ruby shot them both a perplexed look.

“Yeah well, you know your sister.” Clover shrugged, looking down at his coffees and gesturing to him. “I did bring you a peace offering you know, if you’re anything like your sister in the mornings it’s a wonder you haven’t torn Ruby to death yet.”

“That makes me more nervous than I’m comfortable with.” Ruby laughed, turning to Weiss. “You wouldn’t have, right?”

She stayed silent, ignoring Ruby and considering the situation quietly to herself. He wasn’t... It wasn’t as though he was a _bad_ man. Clover was just an unfortunate reminder of the Atlesian military, of Atlas itself, of her family. It was almost funny, how a man named _Clover Ebi_ had brought misfortune right to her doorstep. “Thank you, Specialist Ebi.” She said after a moment, taking the coffee from his hands.

“I didn’t know how you liked it.” He admitted. “So I just, uh, asked for black?”

“Acceptable.” She murmured quietly sipping on it, she liked a little bit of cream and sugar, but black was fine.

“Well, now that we all know why _I’m_ here.” Clover began, looking to his niece. “Am I allowed to ask what you’re doing here, so early in the morning and looking so scruffy?”

Ruby flushed something awful. “ _Uncle Clover_.” She hissed. “It’s _not_ like that—”

Weiss shot him a sharp glare, just barely succeeding at fighting the blush that seeped into her cheeks. “I do believe we were talking about my sister.”

“Well, you aren’t wrong.” Clover said with a smile, dropping the previous subject and suddenly looking a little wistful. “Quite the spitfire, ironically enough.” He said with a tiny laugh. “There’s nothing stopping Specialist Schnee when she wants something, but I don’t think I have to tell _you_ that.”

“That you don’t, Specialist Ebi.” Weiss said, a great deal colder than before. “A genetic trait, as I’m sure you’re well aware of by now.”

Clover grimaced. “Should I be going?”

She smiled at him condescendingly. “I think that would be for the best.”

“What should I tell her?” His eyes were solemn, expression suddenly a great deal more serious.

“Absolutely nothing.” Weiss said back to him, expression not once flickering. “If she asked you to ‘check’ on me, she likely just wanted confirmation I was breathing.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” He sighed, rubbing at the back of his head, and then turned to look at Ruby. “Want a ride home, kid?”

“Um.” Ruby paused, looking between the two of them as though taking one wrong step would set off a bomb. Their conversation must have been quite the shock to her, for some reason—perhaps Clover acted differently when interacting with other people. Ruby’s eyes drifted to Weiss.

Or...

Weiss fought the urge to keep her gaze, looking down at the floor and trying to ignore the complicated bundle of emotions in her chest.

...perhaps she wasn’t used to Weiss? 

She _had_ been rather standoffish with her uncle, though that didn’t quite make much sense either. Wouldn’t Ruby have been used to her acting this way? After all, she hadn’t exactly been the kindest in their previous interactions.

Weiss ignored the pang of regret she felt and focused back on the conversation.

Ruby had finally looked away from her, a conflicted expression on her face.

Clover shot her a crooked (if tired) grin. “Unless you're busy of course.” His tone of voice was teasing again, but even Weiss could tell that his heart wasn’t quite in it.

“I’ll...” Ruby paused, “uh, can I use the bathroom before I go?” She tilted her head a little hopefully at her.

“Feel free.” Weiss agreed easily.

“Thanks!” She said, and then rushed off.

As soon as Ruby was gone, an almost awkward silence descended upon them. Both of them sipped their coffees, Clover still standing just outside the doorstep. The polite thing to do would be to offer him a space inside to wait, but Weiss didn’t much feel like being polite that morning. She knew that she ought to just let it go, drop the grudge she had against him and move on—it wasn’t as though he’d never been anything but cordial to her, but it still...

It stung.

He was a part of the thing that Winter had chosen over her.

She shut her eyes. Weiss didn’t blame Winter for leaving, she _didn’t_ , it would be unfair of her to blame Clover.

“You know, Winter never mentioned you having much in terms of family.” Weiss began. Beginning a conversation with him was something she didn’t exactly want to do, but she knew that it would go a long way.

He smiled down at her, a wry, almost charming thing. “Well, the same can be said for her when it came to you.”

“Very funny.” Weiss snorted, deciding to ignore the churning in her stomach that came with his words. “New additions?” She asked, innocently shooting him a glance.

“Something like that.” Clover laughed, averting his gaze. He looked almost sheepish. “I had..." He paused for a moment, his expression softening. "I had a stroke of bad luck, I guess you could say.”

Weiss scoffed, raising a disbelieving eyebrow. “ _You_ , unlucky? Please.”

“It does happen occasionally, you know.” He pointed out, easily brushing off her comments. “Walk under one too many ladders and well...” He shrugged, “I guess anything could happen.”

“So, a stroke of bad luck and suddenly you're resigning from the Atlesian military and dropping off the face of the earth without a word?” She asked, blinking up at him.

“Uh, I mean, yes.” Clover agreed, bouncing on the balls of his feet slightly.

“Well.” Weiss said with a sigh. “It’s as good a reason as any, I suppose.”

“You really know how to reassure a man, Baby Schnee.” He laughed, a surprisingly genuine sound. His smile was kind, but soon became strained with something far more serious—his eyes flashing with something that immediately set Weiss on edge. “Winter... she doesn’t know, does she?”

“About what?” She asked cautiously.

“I’m guessing the last time either of your siblings saw your face it was a bit more symmetrical.” He noted.

Her brows furrowed, a scowl beginning to surface onto her expression. “You should be more careful, with talk like that.”

“You have a _scar_ , Weiss.” Clover said, imploring her to take his words under consideration. “A really big one, and you came into the clinic with bruises on your _bruises_ —”

“If you say even _one word_ to my sister I won’t be the only one with bruises on my bruises.” She couldn’t help the way she snarled the words, her temper finally getting the better of her. “Why are you _listening_ to her, anyway? Taking orders again, Specialist Ebi? One would of thought you'd have learned better by now.”

His expression tightened a little, the only physical sign that her words had had any effect on him. “I think you should tell her.” He said, voice soft and almost earnest.

“Well, what you think doesn’t really matter, does it?” Weiss asked him, fighting the urge to clench her fists. She was holding coffee in one hand, it wouldn’t be a great idea to squeeze the cup too hard. “You may have been close with my sister, Ebi, but that does absolutely _nothing_ to endear me to you—if anything it’s reason enough to _disregard_ every word you say.”

Clover’s ears seemed to flush a little, but other than that his expression remained the same. “I don’t know what happened, but it’s not hard to piece together when you put the fact that your father’s company is up to it’s _ears_ in lawsuits and accusations of criminal activity while _you’re_ waltzing around with a giant _slash_ on your face—”

She scowled up at him, “What happened to me is _none_ of your concern—”

“Um.” Ruby’s voice interrupted them. 

Weiss could barely keep from whirling around in fright, struggling to keep her expression and actions calm so she could turn and face her. They hadn’t exactly been quiet, and she didn’t know how long Ruby had been standing there. It felt kind of cheap, for Ruby to learn anything about her from an overheard argument with one of her uncles, but it was far too late for Weiss to do anything about it.

She could only hope that Ruby hadn’t understood exactly what they’d been arguing about, or that she’d heard some but not enough to make conclusions. 

Something told her that she wasn’t that lucky.

“I... uh, I think we should go, Uncle Clover.” Ruby said, wiping the surprised expression off of her face. Her hair was a lot less messy than it had been before, her face a little wet. She’d probably rinsed off in the sink, Weiss noted, not failing to notice the fact that Ruby seemed... _off_. 

So perhaps she had heard something.

_Wonderful_ , she thought, dread weighing down her body.

What was that that Clover had said about bad luck? She might be more inclined to believe him now.

“Of course, kiddo.” He nodded, his shoulders relaxing a little in her presence. “I’ll... I’ll wait in the car.” He was quick to leave, sending a strained smile to his niece before scampering away, not shooting Weiss a second glance.

Weiss scowled after him, but turned away from the doorway, moving so that Ruby had ample space to walk away.

“Weiss.” Ruby began quietly. “It’s none of my business, I know, but...” She sighed, “I just, I hope that you’re doing good, and if you’re not... If you’re not I hope things get better.”

She sighed, saying nothing.

“Right.” Ruby nodded rapidly, “Um. Goodbye.”

If she’d stayed for a second longer, she would’ve heard Weiss say it back.

* * *

Weiss was beginning to learn just how wonderful dogs really were. She’d already had a notion that they were amazing animals, don’t get her wrong, but thinking that they might be great and _knowing_ it were two very different things. Her father had had hunting hounds like most of the rich and powerful in Atlas, but he didn’t often let her near them. Only Whitley had gotten that ‘honor’ and that was simply because he’d been born a boy, and apparently it was ‘ _tradition_.’

(Whatever that meant, her father hadn’t even been born in Atlas anyway, nor had he been raised with their traditions.)

Though that didn’t mean she never got to see them. She snuck out whenever she could, going just to look or talk to them, sometimes working up the courage to very gently hold them or pet them. They liked her well enough, but they were trained well enough to show it through the smallest of ways—a tilt of the head, the slow wag of a tail.

She loved those dogs, though she seldom ever got to spend much time with them in the daylight.

Which, now that she thought about it, might be the reason that she’d decided that as soon as Ruby and Clover had left her apartment to go and visit Sun. He had wonderful dogs, most of them mutts he picked up off the street, mixed in a way that made it so they had to guess what kind of dogs they were. Not that Weiss minded, the hounds that her family had owned were impressive and wonderful—powerful and handsome creatures.

But there was something so different about them, obeying without question, and Sun’s dogs, getting into trouble left and right.

It was charming, even if it was a tad messy.

Weiss laughed when Braulio (a mix with a chihuahua and another dog that Sun didn’t know the name of) leaped onto the Sun’s couch and landed on his stomach—making her friend flail and nearly fall off.

“Hello, lovely.” Weiss cooed, and Braulio scampered right over, not caring that he’d ran over Sun quite thoroughly in the process.

The two of them (actually, the five of them, the dogs _absolutely_ counted as company) were sitting in Sun’s living room. The television was on, mostly for dogs—who seemed to really enjoy watching movies—and Sun and Weiss had just been talking. He’d been telling her about what happened at the party after she left, complaining a little about how absolutely trashed Neptune had gotten.

She’d considered talking to him about what happened that morning, with Ruby and her ( _ugh_ ) Clover; but something had stopped her. It wasn’t hard to identify what—the fear that came with opening up was something that she was slowly but surely beginning to become more and more used to identifying. Which was kind of strange and annoying, but not something she had the urge to really complain about. In an odd sort of way, it almost pleased her.

Sure it was terrifying, and she didn’t like the feeling much, but it was proof that she was developing her own life with her own people, wasn’t it? Every time she opened up, every time she grew closer to someone, her place on Patch only solidified.

It was nice, the proof.

“Braulio, my dude, _please—_ I may have rock hard abs but soft spots _do_ exist.” Sun wheezed out, pressing a hand to his side. “None of the others _ever_ do this, it is _literally_ only you.”

Braulio didn’t do much as a response to his words, only burrowing himself deeper into Weiss’ lap and knocking his head against her stomach as an attempt to get her to pet him. She smiled down at him, obeying his commands absentmindedly while Sun shot her an exasperated look. “What?” She asked, growing. “He’s cute.”

Sun whined, “Weiss _please_ , positive reinforcement is not appreciated until _after_ the scolding—”

She rose a single brow, effortlessly shooting him down with a single dark look.

He flopped back against the couch with a defeated sigh. “You know, you aren’t as intimidating as you think you are when you have a cute lil puppy on your lap.”

Weiss said nothing, turning her full attention to Braulio as she cooed at him again. 

Sun made an annoyed noise, watching her for a moment. “So, Ruby was asking for you last night, I sent her your way.”

“That you did.” She noted noncommittally, moving to pet another dog (his name was Jared, and he was basically a ball of black and brown fluff) carefully jumped onto the seat beside her, licking at her elbow and nudging slightly into her side. Sun was right, it seemed, on Braulio ever seemed to take joy in jumping straight on top of someone.

Sun reached down to scratch his third and final dog behind the ears. Her name was Lady Veruca Salt the third, and she was an adorable little poodle who lived up to her name with her constant demands for attention from Sun. She was eyeing Weiss suspiciously, but Sun said she was like that with everybody, so she didn’t take much offense. “And Yang said that she couldn’t find her after, assumed she’d spent the night here.” He said after a moment, gesturing to his home.

Weiss paused, but then both Braulio and Jared began to whine and she went right back to petting them. “I see.”

“Then, the funniest thing—I see her leaving your apartment, eight in the morning and looking significantly scruffy.” He smiled over at her, a crooked, knowing thing that served to set Weiss on edge. “You know, messy clothes and hair—though to be fair her hair is always sort of messy these days.”

“What are you getting at?” Weiss sighed out, looking over at him with her lips pursed.

Sun eyed her for a moment, and there was no mistaking the mischievous frame of his expression now. “ _Well_ ,” He drawled out teasingly, wiggling his brows in a way that was obnoxious enough to make Weiss roll her eyes. “If it was a walk of shame I’m not exactly one to judge—”

She almost leaped out of her seat, stopping only because she was afraid of accidentally startling the dogs around her. Weiss glared at Sun, ignoring the odd bubble in her stomach and rapid flush in her cheeks. “I assure you that it really, _really_ wasn’t.”

“No?” Sun asked, looking surprised, though the look in his eyes stayed the same. It was like no matter what she said he was going to playfully poke fun at her. Honestly though, it probably didn’t help how defensive she’d gotten, or how flustered she looked. “I mean, it wouldn’t exactly be a surprise, what with that weird tension between you two.”

“We don’t _have_ any weird tension.” Weiss interjected sharply, glowering darkly at him. He was lucky that the dogs were there being cute or else she’d probably be reaching over to throttle him. After a moment passed, she coughed into the palm of her hand, averting her gaze to hide her embarrassment, “And even if there _was—_ ”

“Ah-ha! So you admit that there is something loaded between the two of you.” He grinned, wagging his eyebrows again that way that made her wish that she’d really just stayed home all day. “ _C’mon_ , spill to your bestie.”

“So we’re ‘ _besties_ ’ now?” She asked, shooting him an unimpressed look, the word _bestie_ in finger quotes.

“Duh.” He grinned at her, a cocky, self-assured thing that probably would’ve had anyone even remotely attracted to him swooning. It only served to make her more annoyed with him. “I mean, you’re sorta starting to get friendly with everyone else, but besides the boss man, I’m probably the one you’re on the best terms with...” He purposely paused, his thoughtful hum obviously exaggerated. “Well, I mean unless you and the little Rubles have finally gotten past your weirdly intense and loaded interactions.” He shot her a wink.

“There’s nothing loaded, Sun King.” Weiss said, sighing. She knew that there was something to heed from his words, but she was not at all ready for wherever he intended to take the conversation. She wracked her brain, hoping to come up with a suitable excuse to make him drop the subject, however temporarily. “It’s just... well, it must be temporary feelings of... awkwardness—you know, because my brother was her friend? I must still have some resentment of some type and it is probably affecting the both of us—”

“I don’t think that’s it.” Sun interrupted, shooting her a fond look. He thought for a moment, smiling at her. “I mean, maybe a little, but there might be something else _also_ going on.”

“It’s not like that.” She sighed, and turned to look back at Jared who was licking excitedly at her elbow. It was a little gross, but he was cute so she didn’t really mind.

“Alright, alright!” Sun laughed at her, putting up his hands in surrender. Lady Veruca Salt the third took that as an invitation to jump next to him, shakily walking toward him to cuddle into his side. He smiled at the dog fondly, and then turned to look back up at her. “But I want you to know it wouldn’t be a bad thing if it was.”

Weiss fought the urge slump deeper into the couch. How supportive he was, how genuinely earnest when it came to something like this. It was almost a shame she would not be confiding in him about what was or what might be going on anytime soon.

The urge to say something was there, though—but for the life of her she didn’t know what she’d actually find the strength to say. Maybe, _“Whitley said she was kind, and I am slowly but surely starting to find the will to believe him in this.”_ Or perhaps, _“I am afraid of what she might have overheard today, I am afraid of what Specialist Ebi might find himself telling her about me—why? Is it because I wish to talk to her like an equal, with my own agency?”_

Or, and she hardly dared to think it, would she say, _“Ruby’s charm is not failing on me, the more time I spend with her the more fond of her I have the potential to become.”_ How quickly it could build, what she felt, how quickly it could flourish into something powerful, a grand and intimidating creation in which she might have no control over. 

She sighed, shutting her eyes, if there was one thing she desperately needed right now it was control. She could not risk losing it, not even for a second. “As much as I appreciate that, it really isn’t needed.” Weiss murmured, looking back up at Sun and trying to look as serious as she could. “Because whatever’s happening is most certainly _not_ what you’re getting at.”

“Right, right.” Sun nodded his head rapidly, puffing out his cheeks. “Totally _not_ some weird romantic or sexual tension, nope.” He crossed his arms over his chest, the stern look on his face obviously fake. “No, ma’am, no funny business here.”

“Ugh.” She grumbled, turning away from him and back to his pets. Braulio flailed a paw toward Jared, and the other dog whined. Weiss pursed her lips, silently chastising him and patting Jared sympathetically. When she looked back up at Sun, he was smiling, and it only served to make her feel more annoyed. “At this point, I think I’m only friends with you because of your dogs.”

“Rude!” He gasped, a pout on his face as he flailed over dramatically. Lady Veruca Salt the third took the chance to curl deeper onto his lap, rolling around with her legs and belly up, looking at Sun imploringly. He gave in immediately, petting her enthusiastically. “...but also maybe a little fair—they are little cuties.”

“Don’t discount yourself.” She chastised him.

Sun snorted, shooting her a slightly disbelieving look. “Didn’t _you_ just discount me?”

“Perhaps, but it is not as though I actually meant it.” Weiss retorted immediately, frowning at him in disapproval. He sort of had a point, much as she loathed to admit it. She didn’t like being contradictory to herself, but sometimes the sharpness of her tongue got the best of her. “I do find you to be excellent company.”

“More than the dogs?” Sun asked, grinning.

“...yes.” She said, pausing.

“You totally just hesitated, oh my God.” He laughed out loud, reeling back and clapping his hands, he pretended to wipe a way a tear—giggles still shaking his shoulders and ignoring the way Weiss rolled her eyes. “Oh, to be the dogs that Weiss Schnee values over all other company.”

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She said, left eye twitching. It was amusing, but also annoying, and she’d rather not deal with that. “Anyway, the only thing that happened last night was Ruby bringing me a cactus, and then us having a conversation about rather random things—”

“Wait a sec, wait a sec—” Sun interrupted her, waving his hand a little and shooting her a look filled with pure disbelief. “She brought you a _cactus_?”

Weiss raised an eyebrow, tilting her head a little bit at the sound of his confusion. “Yes? Do keep up, Wukong.”

“Have you named it yet?” He asked curiously, absentmindedly rubbing Lady Veruca Salt the third when she made a whining noise.

She blinked at him slowly. “What?”

He shot her a look, his lips pursed. “Weiss, I may not have known you for a super long but over the time we spent together so far I have learned a lot about you and there is no way in hell that you _haven’t_ considered naming that cactus.”

Weiss stared, mouth slightly agape, she shook off her surprise—averting her gaze from him and trying to ignore the flush in her cheeks. “...so I _may_ have considered naming the cactus—”

“I fucking knew it!” Sun crowed.

“—however what I’ve come up with is... well.” She grimaced, though she’d been honestly thinking about what to call it she was slightly, well _embarrassed_. It wasn’t like she’d ever been confronted with something like this, and she had intended to keep this quirk to herself.

“Hey, come on, dude.” Sun beamed at her, his smile inviting and encouraging. “You can literally name the little guy something as on the nose as _Spike_ and I’d be happy.”

She winced. It wasn’t even a big thing to open up with him about something as inane as naming her cactus, but it still felt like she was prying herself open for him to see. Weiss sighed, she knew that if she asked him to drop it he would, but she _did_ want to debate good names with him. She nodded to herself, turning to face Sun with a hesitant quirk of her lips. “Well,” She began, “I’m considering a couple titles before names, things like Sir, Chief, Lieutenant, General, Lady—”

“What about Madam?” He interjected, rubbing his chin in thought. His eyes twinkled as he turned to face her happily. “Or maybe something like Captain?”

She paused, considering for a moment, before nodding to herself. “I rather like those.” Weiss admitted, pursing her lips in thought.

Sun grinned at her triumphantly, smugly leaning back into his couch. “So what’s the name you’ve considered that will go after the title?”

“...Thorn.” Weiss said, and looked down at the dogs that were cuddled into her, ignoring the odd curl of warmth in her chest.

“Nice!” Sun said, shooting her a thumbs up. “It totally fits for a cactus.”

“Yes it does.” She agreed after a moment of pause, nodding her head.

Sun’s brows furrowed slightly, a barely there sign that he had noticed her hesitation. “...there’s more to it?” He asked her softly, as though he was trying to coax very pressing information out of her. 

She watched him for a moment, how odd he was—to treat the meaning of such a simple name as though it was so important. Well, she considered, maybe it wasn’t so important to him, but he could see that it was important to _her_ —and that might mean something to Sun. How strange, to have someone think that something mattered just because she did. It was more novel to her than it probably should have been.

“A bit,” Weiss admitted to him quietly, scratching behind Jared’s ears. “But it’s more sentimentality than anything of real substance.”

“Alright, I won’t ask then.” He said, as though he could sense the way she was holding herself back. (He probably could, she realized, she didn’t know how she felt about having someone who was in tune with what she was thinking.) “But back to the fact that she actually brought you a _cactus_ of all things—”

“Wukong, please.” She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose and trying not to sound too annoyed. “It is perfectly logical to give housewarming gifts at a housewarming party.”

“Yeah, but she didn’t give it to you at the _party_ , she walked all the way down the hall just to give to you in person—and you _let her._ ” He said, and there was a sort of urgency on his face, as though getting her to understand that what he was saying was a matter of life and death. “That’s the most important part, Snow, the fact that you just sort of... chilled with her for a while without kicking her out or anything.”

“I...” She considered him, what he was trying to say, and reluctantly relented. “I suppose.” Weiss mumbled after a brief pause, chewing on the inside of her cheek.

Sun smiled, taking pity on her. “Wanna hear about something dumb Neptune and I did the other day?”

The relief must have been obvious on her face when she smiled back at him. “I would be most delighted.”

She stayed with him for the rest of the afternoon, listening to him ramble on about various adventures he had been on with Neptune. Weiss was finding herself more and more curious about Sun’s relationship with his best friend, on one hand they seemed to be the average ‘bro’ friendship—the appropriate amount of immaturity and hijinks to be considered very good friends, but on the other... Well, it was the way Sun talked about him, wasn’t it?

Fond.

A different kind of fond than what she’d seen on him before, just as vibrant and powerful as everything else, but softer somehow. It wasn’t her place to bring it up, but it was nice to see that kind of affection on her friend’s face. 

She went home eventually, but not before Sun gave her a hot pocket to eat (it was oddly appetizing) and somehow managing to convince Lady Veruca Salt the third to allow Weiss to pet her. (That was probably the highlight of the evening, if she was being honest.)

The walk home was short, considering they were in the same building, but it was nice. She felt like she had gone somewhere and did something, even though it was something so very small. In the past she might not have considered going to visit Sun for the company and to play with his dogs very important, but her priorities had long since changed.

It had been a nice break, but it was time to jump back into her work—her dream.

Weiss entered her apartment with a sigh, closing the door behind her and then immediately reaching up to untie her hair. It fell to her back as she stretched out, rubbing at her chest. Relaxed as she was, exhaustion still crept up on her. She looked around her small living room, nodding to herself and moving forward.

She dragged one of the lawn chairs to her counter, sitting herself down and sighing. It felt nice to wear her hair down, it felt like she could relax without having to worry about someone seeing and judging. Weiss adjusted herself awkwardly, the chair was a little too low for the counter, but she made do—leaning onto a palm and sighing. As though it was magnetic, her eyes inevitably strayed to her cactus, sitting on an empty box that had (probably accidentally) come with the apartment.

Reaching toward it, she picked up, setting it in front of her and leaning her face down on the counter—making it so that she was eye to eye with it.

She hadn’t been lying to Sun earlier, she really _was_ still considering things to call it.

“Captain Thorn.” Weiss said quietly, testing out the name. She hummed, her cheek pressed against the cool countertop as she carefully brushed the rim of the pot. “...Madam Thorn?” She tried, pursing her lips.

Her cactus said nothing in response.

“Would you rather be called the good captain?” She wondered. “Or something posh like madam?”

Her cactus stayed cactus-ing.

“Thorn is non-negotiable, of course.” Weiss continued sternly to the cactus, leaning her chin on her arms, pressed into the counter and posture low. “An homage of sorts; from the woman who gave you to me—her name is Rose, see.”

Sentimental indeed.

But she couldn’t help but feel it was somewhat necessary for something like this. Ruby had given her a gift, and even though she was itching to believe that it hadn’t been of her own volition, Weiss couldn’t help but believe that it was something that Ruby had just up and decided to _give_ to her. Weiss couldn’t help it, that hope, the desire to believe that Ruby had seen it—that tiny little cactus, and thought, _‘I should get that for her.’_

It was absolutely _maddening_. 

The implications of it all, the fact that Ruby had gotten her something in the first place was proof that at one point she’d been _thinking_ of her. How strange it was, to have physical evidence that you run through someone's mind, whether it was sparse or frequent—that stupid little plant was a sign that she was making a space for herself here. A life for herself.

And maybe Ruby didn’t even mean to send this message to her, maybe she does this with all she wishes to get along with, but that changed little in terms of the way Weiss felt. 

(Elation, with a healthy bit of wary suspicion and a tiny amount of sheer terror, but it was mostly elation.)

She wondered if a cactus had the emotional capacity to judge someone.

“Hmm.” Weiss sighed, tilting her head a little and ignoring the embarrassed flush of her cheeks.. “I do think I quite like Captain... don’t you?”

Her cactus did nothing.

“Right.” She said, smiling at it fondly. “Captain Thorn it is.”

And Captain Thorn it would be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Captain Thorn, ladies and gentlemen!!!
> 
> also i love sun's dogs


	8. and always keep you in my life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby was smiling. 
> 
> It was an odd thing.
> 
> Well, perhaps it wasn’t necessarily _odd,_ per say, but the stirring emotions inside of Weiss certainly were. Maybe it was the way that Ruby did it, so unrestrained and genuine, it was like she had every reason in the world to just... _smile,_ thoughtless and instant; second nature. There was no hesitation in it, and there was nothing false about the way her eyes sparkled or lips curved. There were words of happiness on the tip of her tongue, a dizzying realization.
> 
> It was such a startling thing, and for the life of her Weiss couldn’t quite figure out _why._ She’d seen such smiles before, had paid them little mind, but she found that whenever Ruby did it Weiss would be reduced to this _mess_. 
> 
> She figured that she ought to get used to that, now that they were—what? Friends? Acquaintances? Whatever the shaky dynamic between them, outside of outright avoidance, they’d be seeing each other way more often—especially if Ruby kept driving her places. 
> 
> Or;
> 
> Weiss is confused and Ruby is wonderful. (Or maybe Weiss is confused _because_ Ruby is wonderful. Either works, honestly.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is short as fuck, but i figured that in order to not collapse in a pile of stress and general longing for the sweet sweet release of death, it would have to do

The opera house was beginning to see change. 

Not much, mind you, but some—supplies and workers could be found wandering the property, doing the work that they were supposed to. It was a sight that shouldn’t have meant so much to her, the way that construction was only just beginning; but Weiss couldn’t help but stare.

The sight struck her in a way that she didn’t know how to handle, how her dream was just _there_ —how it sat, _just_ beyond her grasp. She could almost feel it between her fingertips, she could almost hold it close to her chest, almost cradle it in her hands. She was so close now, so very _close._ It would take a while for the opera house to be in standing shape, even longer for it to actually be furnished—but this was still leagues closer than she had been before in Atlas. It was enough to leave her breathless.

She wasn’t an idiot, she knew that she wouldn’t be much help when it came to the actual big things that she’d hired Taiyang and his company to do, but she still felt restless. 

Which led to her doing little things for them all, actions that were probably remarkably unprofessional, but Taiyang was content to let her soothe herself in the mindless acts of work. He was a lenient man, his eyes sparkling in amusement every time she showed up to do something like organize his file cabinet or bring gallons of water for the workers to drink so they didn’t faint. (She knew that they’d be fine, that they were probably used to the work, but still—it was the principle of the thing.)

But anyway, organizing Taiyang’s filing cabinet. 

Since his office was on his property she wasn’t going to be able to see her opera house that day, but she didn’t necessarily mind that fact. Weiss had found that she was always more comfortable close to her dream, but she’d seen it all week without fail, not to mention Taiyang’s office wasn’t such a bad place to be. 

Besides, she suspected that she needed a break, she was starting to feel antsy—and organizing his astonishingly messy filing cabinet promised to be just the type of mindless busywork that she enjoyed.

She decided to color code it, because she was bored and because she could. Weiss liked organizing things, it was a soothing pastime that she didn’t often get to indulge in anymore. There was something about having everything in its proper place and making it so that things run smoother than before that never failed to make her feel better.

So she wrangled up a box of supplies and made her way excitedly toward his office, only to be interrupted by Sun’s amused smirk.

He was leaning against the trailer, his arms crossed around his chest. He was dressed for work, a long sleeved t-shirt and sturdy jeans. Normally such a sight would not worry her, but there was this unmistakable look of mischievousness on his face that sent a trickle of dread down her spine. “Hey Weiss.” He greeted, saluting her lazily. “You know that you’re like, totally mom-friending the company, right?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Weiss said, frowning. She paused just before the stairs to get into Taiyang’s office, her brow furrowed as she waited for Sun to explain himself.

He snickered. “You brought us all donuts this morning, half the workers are starting to fall in love with you now, and the other half are about ready to get down on one knee.”

“They’re only donuts.” Weiss protested, pursing her lips. “Besides, I bought too many on accident.” That was the story she was sticking too anyway, even though it was probably hard to believe that she’d ‘accidentally’ bought enough for everyone. She had plenty of leftover money, anyway, she could afford to treat the people who were helping her out with something so important sometimes.

Sun tilted his head, a disbelieving smile on his face as he nodded. “And _that_ , friends, is what we call straight up lying, but I’m willing to let you get away with it.”

She snorted, rolling her eyes and adjusting her grip on the box she was holding. It wasn’t exactly the heaviest, but her hands were beginning to slip slightly. “How kind of you.”

“Let me help you with that.” Sun offered, pushing himself off the trailer and moving to take it from her.

“It’s only a box, Wukong.” She pointed out, dodging him easily enough. “Taiyang was in series need of a proper—”

“Yeah, yeah.” He slipped in front of her, easily swiping the box from her arms. “Can’t have you fainting, or anything.”

“It wasn’t that heavy.” Weiss said with a frown, crossing her arms over her chest and shooting him a look. It wasn’t like she didn’t appreciate him trying to help, but this was something that she could handle herself.

He nodded his head, making his way up the stairs. “Uh huh.”

“Seriously.” She followed him upward, shooting him a flat look and then opening up the door for him.

Sun smiled at her, eyes crinkling, and slipped inside the office—setting the box down on the desk and then moving to sit beside it. He kicked his legs out, and before Weiss could point out that sitting on top of the desk that belonged to Taiyang (who was his _boss_ ) was unprofessional, he opened his mouth. “I dunno, Snow, you’re a _rich person_ —can I really trust anything you say?”

“I’m plenty strong.” She said, scowling. “I did fencing.”

Sun snorted, wrinkling his nose and pretending to look at her in disgust. “Oh, yeah, _sounds_ like something a rich person would say.”

“I despise you.” She sighed, moving to sit in one of the chairs and reaching for the box.

“Uh huh.” Sun agreed, moving to block the way before she could grab what she was reaching for, her hands smacking uselessly against his legs. “But anyway, you should take a break from all these little tasks before one of my coworkers pops the question.”

She raised a brow, drawing her arms back and trying not to glare at him. “They were only donuts.”

“Weiss, you got them from the best donuts shop in town—those little suckers are always sold out so fast.” He leaned forward, batting his eyelashes teasingly. “They think that you’re magic to get that many and just give them out like they _aren’t_ delicacies.”

“I bought too much on accident.” Weiss retorted. “I don’t like anyone here enough to buy them anything.”

“ _Wow._ ” Sun gaped a little at her, nodding his head as he laughed to himself. “I dunno how people are falling in love with you, I mean you’re an asshole on the best of days.”

“Do you _want_ to die?” She scowled, positioning her elbow on the arm of her chair, moving to lean lethargically on the palm of her hand. 

Sun smiled, and it was a great deal more gentle than before; the traces of amusement fading from his face. He looked earnest, his head tilted toward her as he copied her posture, putting his elbow on his knee and leaning his cheek on his hand. The only difference between them was the fact that Sun was sitting on a desk and Weiss in a chair.

She swallowed the lump in her throat, rolling her eyes and turning her face so that her mouth was pressed against the palm of her hand. There was something so awfully endearing about the way he acted sometimes, playful to the point of frustration—but Weiss couldn’t help but be the tiniest bit grateful for that.

Not that she’d ever tell him, of course.

“Why don’t you go down to the music store?” Sun asked her gently after a moment, smiling. “We both know that Neptune won’t mind the company.”

Weiss watched him for a long moment, her gaze assessing.

She knew that he was only recommending this because he wanted for her to take a break, to get out for a little while and soothe herself. What Sun didn’t seem to understand was that she was perfectly content organizing something like this, something small and almost inconsequential. Sure, Taiyang appreciated it, but at the end of the day he got on just fine with his messy filing cabinets. (Not that Weiss could understand _how_.) 

In a way, what she was doing was just... sort of for _herself_.

Weiss knew that he thought he was helping, and in a way he most certainly was, but she couldn’t help the hesitation that gripped her. She had been stressed lately, Sun had seen that—acknowledged it more than once— _he was only trying to help._

It would have to be addressed in the future, his unwavering desire to provide aid, his reluctance at accepting it himself. But Weiss knew that confronting him now was not something she wanted to do; they were both in need of his help. Him giving, and her taking.

They’d have to talk about it someday, but today was not that day.

So, reluctantly, Weiss found herself nodding.

“Fine.” She sighed. “I’ll walk—”

“Nah.” Sun said, cutting her off easily enough. He hopped down from the desk, walking toward and peering out the window. “Someone’s _definitely_ driving you.”

“You have work, you can’t drive me.” Weiss pointed out. “Honestly, it’s not so bad—”

“I don’t know why you like walking everywhere but it’s seriously starting to freak me out.” He shot her a look over his shoulder, his eyebrows raised. “Like, you didn’t have _any_ comfortable shoes until last week, how could you stand it?”

Weiss shrugged.

“Ugh, you’re gonna give me gray hair.” Sun said, rolling his eyes and turning back toward the window. He made an excited noise, gesturing for her to come over. “Hey, look! There’s Ruby, maybe she can take you.”

Ruby was leaning against a pile of wood, scrolling idly on her phone. She was near the front of the yard, a good bit away, but Weiss could still see the look on her face—tired. She was dressed in her work uniform, so she must have just gotten off.

Something in Weiss’ chest twisted at the sight of her, and she found herself anxiously gnawing on the inside of her cheek, ignoring the odd lump in her throat. She hadn’t really seen Ruby since they’re... what would it be considered, exactly? A sleepover? Weiss had never had one of those before but she was sure that _that_ was not how they went—and that had been more than a week ago. 

It wasn’t as though she had been avoiding her or anything like that, she had genuinely been busy; but it felt like a rare treat to be able to lay her eyes upon her in any sort of capacity. 

Which, of course, brought forth its own problems—issues she was content on ignoring.

Weiss felt herself grimace. “I’ve already asked so much of her, I don’t want to be a bother, besides she’s probably busy—”

But Sun was already moving, slipping out the door and waving excitedly at her. “Hey, Ruby!” He called while Weiss followed him.

“ _Wukong_.” She scolded, reaching out to tug on his arm to get him to slow. 

Sun ignored her, practically skipping on the gravel on his way to Ruby. He crossed his arms around his chest, beaming widely at her and coming to halt. “Are you visiting your dad?”

“Uh.” Ruby blinked for a moment, shifting her weight from one foot to another and looked between them curiously. “Yup, I got off work early so I brought him lunch.”

Sun’s mouth quirked upward. “So, theoretically—”

“Using big words will not soothe my annoyance.” Weiss seethed.

“—if Weiss needed a ride to Neptune’s shop, would you be willing to—”

“Yes!” Ruby blurted out.

Weiss blinked.

Ruby blanched, her face coloring, and it became clear that she had not meant to say anything. She laughed, rubbing the back of her neck and nodding her head, attempting to sound casual but failing catastrophically. “I mean, uh, yeah—yeah, that... uh, that wouldn’t be a problem.”

“Wow, Ruby!” Sun noted, raising his eyebrows and releasing a startled laugh. “You agreed to that before I could finish my sentence, what if I ended up saying something totally weird?”

“But... you weren’t going to?” Ruby said, though it sounded more like a question than anything else.

“Still.” He cocked his head, grinning widely. “You were _very_ quick to agree.”

“Stop playing with her.” Weiss said, smacking him lightly on the shoulder. Though she was curious as to why Ruby had seen so keen on accompanying her, she didn’t think that Ruby deserved having a curious Sun Wukong sicked on her. “As amusing as it may be, you have something else you should be doing right now.”

Ruby frowned a little. “It feels like you think what he said was funny.”

“That’s because it was.” Sun and Weiss said in unison.

“Wow.” Ruby managed through a laugh. “You’re both so mean, you make a great team.”

“I’m not mean.” Sun said petulantly, crossing his arms and pouting. It was the perfect picture of genuine childishness, and Weiss had to suppress the urge to roll her eyes at his dramatics.

“You have no filter.” She supplied lazily for him, "It makes for insensitive comments, not that I can honestly judge, of course." 

“That—uh...” He paused, thinking for a moment, and then blinked a little in astonishment. “That might be true, actually.”

“Yes.” Weiss nodded her head with a hum, shrugging a little bit. “And I already know I’m a bitch, so put two and two together—”

“Prepare for trouble!” Sun proclaimed dramatically, striking a dynamic pose.

“Make it double!” Ruby added, joining him.

Sun snickered, reaching over to high-five her, a gesture that Ruby excitedly returned. “Heh, nice.”

Weiss stared at them both, fighting the urge to sigh. On one hand, she was interested in the way that they'd managed to coordinate that, but on the other she had the feeling that an explanation from either of them would result in a headache that would last a decade. Exhaling some air through her nose, Weiss crossed her arms around her chest, staring both of them down with a thoroughly unimpressed expression on her face. “I want to ask but also I really, _really_ don’t.”

“Wow, wow, wow.” Ruby blinked, averting her gaze and wrapping her arms around her stomach. “You didn’t get it?”

Sun let out a groan. “You’re so uncultured it actually hurts me, like literally I think I’m in pain.”

Like a rubber band, Weiss snapped; her temper finally managing to get the better of her. “Talk anymore and you absolutely _will_ be—”

“Alright!” Ruby laughed nervously. “I know this is how you two play but I keep expecting Weiss to pull out a sword so we’re gonna go now.”

“Well, she is a fencer.” He admitted with a shrug, his eyes sparkling. “Wait, Weiss can I see your shoulders? They’ve gotta be like, _super_ defined if—”

Her cheeks flushed an angry red. “I will _personally_ make sure that you _never_ reproduce—”

“And we are leaving! We are _going_!” Ruby said, laughing nervously, and reaching down to tug on Weiss’ hand gently—only enough to sort of pull her in the opposite direction before letting go. “Goodbye, Sun, have a good day!”

Though she was following Ruby, Weiss looked over her shoulder to scowl at Sun. “I hope you trip face first into fresh cement you utter _buffoon_ —!”

“I love you too!” He cheered, waving. “Bye!”

Ruby led a glowering Weiss away from Sun, an almost panicked look on her face as she hurried to separate them. She tugged on her hand, and once it was clear that Weiss was following, she let go—and a surge of something odd danced down Weiss’ spine. Once they were in front of Ruby’s car, which was suitably far away from him, Ruby let out a relieved sigh. “You’re both scary.” She moaned out.

“And how is that, exactly?” Weiss asked, frowning and crossing her arms around her chest.

Ruby laughed, opening up the passenger door to her car and gesturing for Weiss to get in. It was a surprisingly formal gesture, and she couldn’t quite help but allow it, slipping into the seat and waiting for Ruby to get inside the car. She hopped in, shooting Weiss a goofy grin. “When I’m near you guys I can’t tell if the next move is a hug or a punch to the face.”

Weiss snorted, averting her gaze as she put on her seat belt. It wasn’t like Ruby’s assessment wasn’t fair, but that didn’t mean she had to take it. “If it makes you feel better,” She began genially, “I’d never hit him.”

“Oh.” Ruby sighed, her shoulders slumping in relief. “Thank goodness—”

“You’re far more likely to find me stabbing him.” Weiss said, completely straight-faced. “It’s much easier, you see, plus it hurts more.”

They stared at each other for a moment, neither of them moving. Ruby blinked for a moment, her eyes wide and her mouth agape, surprise etched utterly in her face. A string of nervous giggles escaped her mouth, fingers hyperactivity drumming against the dashboard to her car. “Hahaha, you are _so_ funny, Weiss. Like literally, you’re comedy chops? Totally unparalleled.”

“Who said I was joking?” Weiss asked flatly.

“I did.” Ruby pointed out. “Just now.” She tilted her head, and her expression was so genuine that Weiss couldn’t quite tell if she was playing or not. “Do you need me to say that again? ‘Cause I’ll totally say it again if you need to hear it—” She cleared her throat, leaning forward and nodding placatingly, “Hahaha, Weiss, you and your jokes are _so_ funny.”

She stared at her for a moment, eyes narrowed and brows furrowed. Weiss let out a huff of exasperated air, looking away and grumbling, “You’re insufferable.”

“Oh wow, in Weiss-language that basically means I must be pretty amazing.” Ruby said excitedly, beaming. She hummed thoughtfully, and Weiss didn’t know whether to feel amused or annoyed. “Have I been nominated for some type of reward? That’s the only thing this can mean, right?”

Weiss rolled her eyes, scoffing. “Your trophy will arrive in the mail after three to five business days.”

“Really?” Ruby asked, looking over at her curiously. “I was only joking, Weiss.” Regardless of her words, Ruby’s eyes seemed to sparkle at the prospect of genuinely getting some type of award.

“Undoubtedly.” Weiss continued without missing a beat, entirely straight-faced. “It’ll have, _‘Weiss Schnee thinks I’m insufferable’_ engraved on it.”

Ruby watched her for a moment, tilting her head. A slow disbelieving smile began to creep across her face. “Are you for real right now?”

Weiss paused, staring at Ruby blankly for a moment. She almost couldn’t comprehend exactly what she’d asked, so thrown off by the absolute sincerity of her question that it took her a moment to respond. “Do you _want_ me to be for real?”

“Yes.” Ruby answered immediately, nearly vibrating at the prospect.

Weiss sighed, slumping into her seat and crossing her arms over her chest, looking stubbornly away from her. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Awesome!” She cheered, and though Weiss didn’t see her she could practically _feel_ the grin stretching across her face. “This is... kind of one of the best things that’s ever happened to me.”

“That’s sad.” Weiss retorted, finally glancing back at her, freezing for a moment.

Ruby was smiling. 

It was an odd thing.

Well, perhaps it wasn’t necessarily _odd,_ per say, but the stirring emotions inside of Weiss certainly were. Maybe it was the way that Ruby did it, so unrestrained and genuine, it was like she had every reason in the world to just... _smile,_ thoughtless and instant; second nature. There was no hesitation in it, and there was nothing false about the way her eyes sparkled or lips curved. There were words of happiness on the tip of her tongue, a dizzying realization.

It was such a startling thing, and for the life of her Weiss couldn’t quite figure out _why_. She’d seen such smiles before, had paid them little mind, but she found that whenever Ruby did it Weiss would be reduced to this _mess._

She figured that she ought to get used to that, now that they were—what? Friends? Acquaintances? Whatever the shaky dynamic between them, outside of outright avoidance, they’d be seeing each other way more often—especially if Ruby kept driving her places. 

Ruby grinned a little wider when she caught Weiss looking, and something almost cocky bled into her demeanor. It wasn’t exactly arrogance, but there was this unmistakable air of assurance to her actions, such a different side of Ruby that Weiss was used to seeing. Like she knew exactly what to say and what to do, like she knew exactly where they stood and what their relationship could be defined as.

Weiss almost couldn’t help the violent fit of jealousy that lashed through her, but as soon as it was there, it was gone—leaving her feeling oddly hollow and burnt out.

“ _Shush_ ,” Ruby chastised, “your possum-ism can’t get me down from the high I’m experiencing right now.”

She frowned. “Do you mean pessimism?”

Ruby’s smile suddenly went very strained, as though she was awfully embarrassed but didn’t want to acknowledge that, and turned away from Weiss, looking stubbornly straight ahead. “That’s what I said.”

“I think that trophy can’t arrive any sooner.” Weiss sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“ _Aww_.” Ruby hopped a little in her seat, so over the top and playful Weiss is filled with the urge to slam her head into the window. “That’s so sweet.”

“You’re _insufferable_.” She snarled out weakly, wishing very much that Ruby would start the car and drive, and that she wasn’t so riled up by a simple gesture. It was like they were _bantering._ Is that what their relationship had now, banter? 

“Maybe I should keep a tally of how much you call me that.” Ruby noted absentmindedly, the rhythmic tapping of her fingers against the steering wheel drawing Weiss’ attention. “Two today, I wonder if we’re going for some type of record.”

She shot her a flat look, “You’re—”

“Yeah?” Ruby asked, a wide grin on her face.

“ _Ugh_.” Weiss groaned out in frustration, not knowing if she liked that Ruby was brave enough to joke around with her now or if she didn’t.

“I feel like that counts, but in the spirit of fair sportsmanship I won’t add it to the tally.” Ruby hummed, shooting her an awkward, incomplete wink. It was a travesty to look at, honestly, not what Ruby seemed to be going for at all.

Regardless, Weiss felt her cheeks begin to burn anyway, and she didn’t know if it was because she was annoyed or if it was because of something else. “I—I can’t properly express my emotion toward you in this exact moment but know that it is one filled with seething rage.”

“Uh, huh!” Ruby laughed, throwing her head back, and finally started the car. “Now, where we heading, partner?”

Relief surged through her, and she rubbed a hand over her chest, taking a deep breath. “You can drop me off at the music store if you like.”

“Cool!” Ruby chirped. “You don’t mind if I... uh, hang out with you for a little while?”

Weiss blinked, startled. She hadn’t expected that Ruby would want to stick around with her for a little while longer, and even if she’d have entertained the thought, she never would have guessed that Ruby would have been brazen enough to _communicate_ that. Perhaps Weiss’ views were skewed, but she knew that _she_ would have a very difficult time lowering her pride enough to even imply that she wanted something that wasn’t necessary to her.

She looked at Ruby, who was nervously fiddling with the bottom of her shirt, and an odd burst of warmth made its home in her chest. Weiss was not unused to spending time with someone like Sun and his dogs, and she knew that this had no reason to feel so different, but—

Why was it that when Ruby asked, the second emotion to come after confusion had been unrelenting happiness?

“It’s not like I have anywhere else to be.” Weiss said after a moment, hoping that she wouldn’t have to say another word and Ruby would take the hint.

Ruby blinked blankly over at her, “And...?”

Weiss sighed, reluctantly forcing herself to meet Ruby's eyes in order to make sure that the words she spoke couldn’t be mistaken for anything less than sincere. “I wouldn’t mind if you... ‘hung out’ with me for a little while.”

A slow smile made its way onto Ruby’s face, dopey and awfully charming. It seemed impossible for her to hide her emotions when it came to the things she liked, Weiss wondered if Ruby wanted to be her friend _that_ much. “Nice.”

“Yes.” Weiss agreed quietly, turning to look straight ahead as Ruby finally began to drive. “Nice.”

It was mostly silent after that.

It wasn’t a bad thing, per say—the air was not awkward or loaded, no tension lined their shoulders, there were no second looks or odd stares. It was a calm thing, the soft rumbling of Ruby’s car and the gentle sounds of music that seeped from the radio. Ruby drove, and like all other times Weiss had seen her she _moved_ —twitching and shifting when there seemed to be no reason to twitch or shift. Perhaps that was just the way she was, a constant bubble of something beneath her skin, simmering and spilling out into her actions in waves she couldn’t quite control.

Her fingers drummed against the steering wheel, her thumbs absentmindedly rubbing against the cover. She hummed to the music, the action natural and unnoticed—as though it was more instinct than a conscious decision to act.

Weiss found it... comforting, somehow.

It was the obvious evidence of the life next to her, perhaps, or maybe it even was that the repetitive actions were simply soothing; the noise that came from when the pads of Ruby’s fingertips and the steering wheel met, pacifying. 

Weiss thought back to what it was like in Atlas, remembering all the times her father had said something to them for so much as twitching when they weren’t supposed to. He’d succeeded in conditioning them, somehow managing to convince them all that it was unseemly to twitch so much. Well, maybe he didn’t exactly _convince_ them, he was much better at... strongly implying that their behavior be correct. As a result, her and her siblings often sat still and solemn, professional and prim and unlike most other children at all. 

Weiss didn’t notice the way her fingers absentmindedly began to tap against her knee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter weiss and ruby spend some time at the music store, plus we finally get a real scene with the boi neptune


	9. this will come up again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Is that how you see relationships?” Neptune asked, his smile steadily fading. He studied her for a moment, as though if he looked at her just a moment longer he might be able to understand where exactly she was coming from. “A transaction between two parties?” 
> 
> Weiss looked him in the eye, her mouth pursed. “It’s hardly a transaction.”
> 
> Everything between them would be taking, wouldn’t it? There was no way it _wouldn’t_ be taking, not after all that Weiss had been through, all that she had put Ruby through. She was a bitch—she didn’t mind that, she was _growing_ and who cared if she was a little prickly because of it? Reluctant change was better than no change at all, but if it was about _deserving_ , about if every time Ruby smiled at her she felt like she was worthy? She’d fall short.
> 
> She’d fall short every single time.
> 
> Or;
> 
> Weiss' view on relationships is appropriately warped by a loveless home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'd like to once again reiterate that this fic is self indulgence in it's purest form, and no one is allowed to complain. this chapter is ages late, because i have been VERY busy lately, and honestly it looks like i only have more stuff to do ahdlgjfgljd
> 
> anyway, enjoy!

Walking into a music store was always a pleasant experience for Weiss. It was an easy escape, it helped her to get her mind off of the wrong things and suitably distract herself from the word around her. She found that there was an allure to it—getting lost in the sounds that she could only ever perceive as beautiful; it was something that she kept close to her heart. Perhaps she could be considered some sort of dragon, hoarding what she loved dangerously close to her and breathing fire on anyone who dared come close.

Sharing something so important to her with someone else felt... weighted, a difficult act that made for stiff shoulders and a dry mouth. It wasn't like she hadn't done it before, Sun liked her music and freely shared his own, something that had endeared him to her quite quickly—but this felt different somehow. There was a different atmosphere to it all, a different approach that came with walking in with Ruby. Weiss knew logically that she was making a big deal out of something that didn’t need to be. Ruby had offered to take her to Neptune’s music store, and had only offered to spend a bit of time with her. It wasn’t as though that was by itself important, friends talked to each other and went places all the time— _still_ , she couldn’t help but feel as though she should prepare herself for some inevitable fallout.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and forced the grimace off of her face, not bothering to greet Neptune with more than a slight nod before tugging on Ruby’s sleeve and then making a beeline for the opera section.

Ruby let out a surprised huff of fond laughter, stopping from waving at Neptune (who had smiled and went to the back office to retrieve something, effectively leaving them alone) to follow after her dutifully. “What type of music do you like?”

“All sorts, I suppose.” Weiss said, trying to ignore the sudden burning in her cheeks. She managed a bit of a sheepish smile, gesturing to the rack of CD’s in front of them. “Though admittedly I am partial to opera.”

“I noticed.” Ruby grinned, looking away from Weiss to examine the music in front of them. She had a genuinely interested gleam in her eyes, a sight that made something in Weiss’ chest warm. “Why do you like it so much?” Ruby asked, before cringing. “Er, not that I’m judging you or anything—opera is great and probably doesn’t _need_ to be justified but I was only wondering because you were... well, you’re building an opera house.”

“It’s...” Weiss considered her for a moment. “Soothing.”

Somehow that seemed to be too small a description of it, an oversimplified explanation that she couldn't help but cringe after—but Ruby seemed to understand her just fine, nodding her head thoughtfully.

“Yeah?” Ruby's mouth curled upward into a soft smile, her cheeks creasing as she looked at Weiss somewhat affectionately.

“Yes.” She nodded her head, voice quiet as she turned away from looking at Ruby. Her expression had been hard to look at, her stomach churning nervously as she tried to keep her composure. “Telling a story through music, I think it’s wonderful.”

“Sounds nice,” Ruby murmured, “honestly I don’t have an opinion either way—mainly because they always have opera in languages I don’t know—but I _do_ like musicals.”

“That is an acceptable substitute.” Weiss said, nodding appreciatively. She was a tad disappointed, but she figured there was plenty of time to at least force Ruby to listen to one opera. She thought that Ruby might appreciate _The Magic Flute_ , it was similar to a fairytale, and she was pretty sure that Ruby liked those. "Though, it has been pointed out to me that my taste in music can be considered a bit... _pretentious_.”

For the most part this really didn't bother her, mainly because the most recent person to describe it this way was Sun, and he had the same taste in music as her. He was odd in the way that he took pride in how ‘ _showy_ ’ the operas he liked could be, though she could hardly blame him—it was nice to like nice things sometimes, if that made any sense.

Still, there were worse things than being called pretentious, and Weiss was very much aware of that fact.

“Maybe a little.” Ruby admitted, grinning when Weiss narrowed her eyes a little. “But I think it’s nice to have something to love so much, even if people think you’re kinda stuffy.”

“Stuffy?” Weiss snorted, absentmindedly flipping through the display. She couldn’t focus on the albums, hyper aware of Ruby’s presence beside her. “I believe that's a new one.”

“Probably not—people could say it behind your back.” Her smile had gone strained and awkward, as though what she was saying was quite obviously forced. It was strange to see something so clearly not at home on her face; like she was trying too hard.

If Weiss wasn’t so confused and wary, she might have thought it cute.

“Did that physically pain you?” She asked through a raised brow, her fingers clenching slightly around the CD she held. 

Ruby looked very much sheepish, the look on her face fading from what it was before and into something clearly more embarrassed. Weiss was finding it hard to sympathize. 

“I’m trying to banter, is it working?” Ruby asked her hopefully—and a lump rose in Weiss’ throat as she looked away.

“Somewhat, but you do banter better when you're actually comfortable with what you’re saying; you’ve done it before, changing it now seems odd.” She admitted quietly, and then snidely muttered. “Duplicity is not something I’m terribly fond of.”

“Duplicity?” Ruby asked.

“Deceit.” Weiss cringed, closing her eyes.

“Oh.” Ruby suddenly sounded very conscious of herself, her voice sharp and high. “I didn’t mean to.”

“It’s not as though you did much wrong.” Weiss felt like smashing her head into the display rack. “You were trying to be friendly—calling that deceitful is not appropriate.” 

“Are you trying to apologize right now?”

“...yes.” She muttered. “I’m sorry.” 

(She’d said the words before, said them and meant them, but they still felt odd in her mouth; and it was quite clear that she wasn’t used to saying them. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment, especially when she realized the words had been slightly accented.)

Ruby crossed her arms around her chest, and when Weiss glanced up at her face she noticed that her cheeks had darkened. “I hope you know I’d never lie to you.”

“I know.” Weiss said, because she _did_ —she knew now, she knew. It sat in her throat, a lump that she couldn’t swallow; the earnestness of the woman in front of her would never not be known, the fact that she wouldn’t lie... Weiss could only find it in herself to repeat what she’d already said, shaken by the realization. “I know.”

“Good.” Ruby smiled, looking for her part relieved. There was no way for her to realize that something in Weiss’ chest had been shattered by her, an odd soreness that would not be escaped. “Still not that great with apologies, huh?”

“Pride is...” Weiss forced herself to look away, her jaw clenching. “Pride is an awful thing.”

“Now I see where your brother gets it from.” Ruby noted absentmindedly, smiling off to the side, looking by all means the epitome of the word ‘bittersweet.’ “He still hasn’t really said sorry to Oscar.”

If Weiss was a more sympathetic person she might’ve dwelled more on that fact, instead she was sent into a semi-blind rage because Whitley was mentioned at all. “I suppose hubris is genetic.” She said flatly. “It would explain my sister.”

She still couldn’t stand the thought of him. 

It was—

It was just... hard?

Yes, that seemed to be the right word. It had been a little while, but it was _hard—_ it was supremely difficult and Weiss didn't want to have to deal with it ever again. She was one usually one up for a challenge, but only if it actually _benefited_ her, and right at that moment she couldn't find anything she might want from Whitley other than his presence. (Which she didn't want... well, didn't want as much as she used to.)

Besides, any and all thoughts of _him_ led to the night she left, what had happened to her eye and what had happened to _her_ and what had happened to her hands and how they’d bruised and how her chest had _ached_ like it had been _hollow_ for so long—

“Uh—” Ruby began.

But Weiss had already turned away, fully content with ignoring her for the comment.

(It wasn't as easy ignoring her shaking hands.)

“I’m sorry.” Ruby relented, so easy that it hurt. “Is family off limits? I won’t mention him again.”

“Yes, my brother and I—” She paused, sighing and pressing a hand to her chest, pressing her fingers harshly into her collarbones. She gripped at the skin there through her shirt, the rough material burning at her fingertips with the harshness of her movements. “...we’ve had a falling out, I’m sure he’s told you all about it.”

Ruby watched her, eyes flicking to her hand before going back to her face. “Not everything.”

“So some of it.” Weiss rolled her eyes, failing not to sound sarcastic. “Things must be different, with you.”

“Oscar has a way of softening him.” Ruby corrected.

Her mouth turned downward, annoyance surging up inside of her. “Turning poison to paste doesn’t make it any less lethal.”

“Oh, wow.” Ruby blinked for a moment, shifting uncomfortably and fiddling with the pocket of her hoodie. Her brows furrowed, face shrouded in hesitance. “You’re, uh, really affected by this.”

“What gave it away?”

“It was the poison part.”

“That was sarcasm.”

“I don’t always understand that.” Ruby said, starting to look visibly upset. Her mouth twitched downward a moment and then froze there; like she’d attempted to stop the frown from forming but very clearly failed.

Weiss paused at once, bowing her head and turning away so that her face wasn’t visible—making it easier to hide the grimace on her face. She was lashing out again, and she knew that Ruby didn’t deserve to be the brunt of Weiss’ unresolved issues. She would have to apologize again, and the words never graced themselves on her tongue easily.

“My apologies.” She murmured as sincerely as she could manage. (This was also noticeably accented... she wondered if that would go away if she practiced more.) “I will do my best to refrain from it.”

“It’s not as though you have to stop using it entirely.” Ruby’s face slackened, but her tone stayed the same; frustration threatening to boil over. “I just don’t want to be on the receiving end of passive aggressive remarks I don’t realize are passive aggressive until much later.”

“I’m sorry.” Weiss said again. “I know I can be difficult at times—I will work on it.”

“It’s not all bad.” Ruby sighed, rubbing at her cheek with her sleeve and slumping her shoulders. “I know that for the most part you’re only playing, and that can be kinda fun—but it’s the times where you’re serious that make me worry.”

“You worry?” She asked after a moment, her voice coming out raw and oddly vulnerable.

Weiss knew she shouldn’t press, knew that she should remember where she was—a public music store where _anyone_ could be listening—but she couldn’t help it as the question slipped out. She knew that Ruby wouldn’t say it if she didn’t mean it, she’d just said that she’d never lie to Weiss, but there was a fervent pressing of darkness in the back of her mind that told her it wasn’t true—that no one could ever _worry_ for Weiss.

The voice was wrong. Weiss _knew_ the voice was wrong, she knew it because she knew that she had friends like Sun, like Ruby—she knew it because for all her faults even Winter genuinely cared for her, in her own way. But there’s no ridding yourself of a voice like that after years and years of listening to it, there is no automatic fix for feeling undeserving—feeling _unworthy_ of it all.

So excuse her if she needed a little reassurance now and then.

“We’re friends now, aren’t we?” Ruby answered with a question, a smile on her face.

“Of course.” Weiss replied immediately, because she was a little unsure whether or not Ruby was going somewhere with that and figured there was no use playing coy.

“Do you not worry about your friends?”

Weiss decided that maybe playing a little coy would do no further harm. “I have very little in that respect.”

“Weiss.” Ruby crossed her arms, somehow managing to look perfectly chastising. It was sort of odd, seeing her manage that expression, and it made Weiss herself feel odd. She didn't like that.

“I worry.” Weiss admitted after a hesitant moment. “Wukong is rather stupid.”

“Ouch.” Ruby after a moment, through a laugh.

“I worry for you too.” She blurted out, struck by the sudden silence that came with her statement. “Since... since we’re friends now, I mean—I do worry.”

There was nothing to say after that, the two of them staring—both unsure what to do next. It was a little comforting, to know that Weiss wasn't the only one clearly out of her element, but mostly all she could feel was the churning of her stomach. It was hard to ignore the nerves that refused to calm down, dancing all down her spine and through her ribcage—accelerating her heartbeat to the point of worry.

“That’s a little scary.” Ruby said, breaking the silence with a nervous grin. “To be worried about.”

“Are you only _just_ realizing it?” Weiss asked her, incredulous. She couldn’t imagine only just finding the fear in something as intimate as that.

“No.” Ruby waved her off, her smile turning small and wistful. “No, it’s just... for a second it’s scary to be cared about, but I don’t mind being brave for just a second longer than that—if it means it’s you who’s caring.”

“Oh.” Weiss gasped out.

“I—I mean it’s because we’re friends now and I care about you and if it’s coming from someone I care about then obviously I’m gonna be brave about it, I... um.” Ruby rambled, running a nervous hand through her hair as a shaky laugh escaped her mouth. She swallowed the lump in her throat, grinning weakly as she attempted to look more serious. “I just really like you, you know? I like you.”

“ _Oh_.” She was ashamed to notice that she had squeaked. “That’s kind of you—I... I care as well. Just so you know.”

“I know.” Ruby said nodding, a reassurance. “I know.”

“Er... right.” Weiss said, feeling relief. “Of course.”

It was quiet for an awkward moment, the both of them standing next to each other unsure of what to do next. The silence was broken by the sound of Neptune shutting a door, coming out of the back and positioning himself at the cash register. He smiled boyishly when he caught Weiss glancing at him, shooting her a wink, before pulling out his phone and burying his nose into it.

Weiss rolled her eyes.

Ruby, seemingly shocked out of her somber mood, noticed something in one of the display racks, drifting forward and away from Weiss to grab something.

“Oooh.” She made a noise of excitement, looking up excitedly at Weiss with a sparkle in her eyes. She did a little dance, hurrying back over to show off something that she held in her hands.

Weiss raised her eyebrows a little, moving forward as to get a better look at what Ruby was gesturing to. “What is it?”

“Look!”

Weiss went still. 

She recognized that CD cover, unfortunately. 

“This you?” Ruby asked jokingly, brandishing the album with little care, jabbing at the face of the singer with her finger. “You could totally be related.”

Weiss heard Neptune snort all the way from the cash register. She could already hear the teasing words she’d receive from Sun later after Neptune undoubtedly told him.

“Ruby.” Weiss began, beginning to sorely regret her entire existence. “Ruby, that _is_ me.”

“What?” Ruby asked, looking from the picture then to Weiss and back again. Her brows creased a little as she tried to put it together, but in the end seemingly decided she couldn’t see it. “Pshh, don’t joke.”

Weiss smiled disbelievingly, so wide that it almost hurt her cheeks. For all the embarrassing factors of this interaction it was still absolutely hilarious that somehow Ruby had stumbled upon _this_ album. “My name is _literally_ on the back of it.”

“Haha, it’s—” She flipped the case, her face dropping. “Oh.”

Weiss rubbed at her face, sighing into the palm of her hand and then tilting her head to face her better. “Ruby—”

“Oh, _wow_.” Ruby stared at the album with wide eyes, her voice a harsh whisper—strained and in pain. “Wow, it’s uh... it’s actually on the back of it.”

Something in her stomach churned. “Is there a problem with that?”

“Not really.” Ruby replied absentmindedly, looking back up at Weiss, her cheeks steadily going darker in color. She let out a nervous little laugh, putting back the CD before drawing her hands to her chest and rubbing them together. “This is just... _totally_ embarrassing, wow.”

“Well...” Weiss started slowly, looking away from her so she could turn back to browsing the albums. “We can forget about it if you’d like.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Ruby bobbed her head, audibly swallowing. “That’s... uh, probably for the best! I mean... the fact that your music has fueled more than one of my emo angsty high school moments is an embarrassing fact that neither of us should really ever think about, _ever_.”

“Wait a moment.” Weiss said, her head snapping back to Ruby so quickly it almost hurt. She almost couldn’t quite comprehend what she had just heard and was half convinced that she’d hallucinated the entire thing. “You used _my_ music to—”

“I think we agreed to forget about it.” Ruby interrupted hastily, stumbling over herself. “Like I’m ninety-nine percent sure that we _totally_ agreed to _forget_ about it—I could be wrong but ninety-nine is a big number so I don’t think I am.”

“That was before I learned that you listened to it.” A smile was beginning to grow onto her face. “Apparently more than once.”

“Aww c’mon, Weiss!” Ruby whined out, “Don’t do that face, you’re making it _worse_.”

She rose a brow, not managing to get rid of her smile. “ _How_ exactly?”

“You’re—you’re like... ugh.” Ruby covered her face with her hands, peaking out at Weiss through her fingers for a moment before covering them up again. “This is _so_ embarrassing.”

“So you’ve said.” Weiss said. “Multiple times.”

“Well... uh, _you’re_ the one who _sang_ those songs!” Ruby blurted out, dropping her hands from her face and pointing accusingly. “So, it’s—it’s totally likely that a bunch of little emo kids listened to it! And what does that say about _you_ , huh?” 

Weiss wasn’t much phased by her words, “That I was clearly talented and had a massive impact on the youth.”

“Yeah!” Ruby shouted, before visibly backtracking. “Wait—wait, _no_! I mean not that you’re not talented or anything, but you were practically emo yourself—”

“And what is _that_ supposed to mean?” Weiss asked, frowning.

“Weiss, these songs are _so_ depressing—”

“Oh.”

“—like seriously, it’s no wonder I listened to it for like two years straight.” Ruby said, crossing her arms around her chest and looking disgruntled.

“And you didn’t recognize me?” Weiss asked mockingly, “I’m almost offended.”

Ruby pouted. “It’s not my fault you look different! On the cover you’re like... swathed in shades of white and now you’re, uh, all that—y’know?” She gestured to Weiss spastically. “Besides it’s been years.”

Her face twitched. “That doesn’t quite sound like a compliment, so I am going to give you a chance to try again.”

“Well, you’re prettier now for one.” Ruby said. “You’re realer too—like I see you and go, ‘hey, that’s an actual person with thoughts and things’ but when I look at the cover it’s like, ‘oh a sad teenager’ and it’s not like I can connect the two automatically.”

“I—what?” Her heart stopped, and she could not find it in herself not to stare. “Did you just call me pretty?”

“Yeah?” Ruby brushed her off quickly. “You’re beautiful, but that’s not the point though, the point is that _you_ can’t blame _me_ for not piecing together the picture!

“I am... so confused.”

“So am I.” Ruby grumbled. “But that’s just like a me thing, I was confused going into this conversation and I’ll be confused going out of it.”

“Right.” Weiss said through a small frown. She didn’t really know what kind of point Ruby was trying to make, but figured she was better off just... rolling with it. Not that Weiss was particularly _good_ at ‘rolling with it’ but she supposed for Ruby (and for her own peace of mind) she’d learn to. 

She glanced back up at Ruby once more, taking in the moment to just _look_ _._ It was once again reiterated that it wasn’t so bad—just looking, it was almost pleasant. Weiss didn’t trust that. The pleasantness, there had to be something that _made_ it pleasant, and that reason had been buried deep down inside of her. If she had her way, it would never see the light of day.

* * *

“You’re really obvious about it, you know.” Neptune noted absentmindedly, not quite looking at her—consumed by something on his phone.

She frowned, tilting her head as she watched him scroll lethargically. Ruby had only just left, much to her reluctance—she had wanted to give Weiss a ride home. She refused of course, it wasn’t as though her apartment was particularly far, and she’d needed a moment to recharge after their “hangout” anyway. 

Neptune didn’t seem to be poking fun at her in any visible moment way, but she couldn’t quite help the way her hackles rose. “What?”

Neptune snorted, setting down his phone for a moment to wink at her. “C’mon, Snow angel—”

“Don’t call me that.” She grumbled, shoving her hands in her jacket pockets and glowering over at him.

“—I get that you like Ruby, really, I do! But you _can_ afford to dial it back a little bit, because damn.” He laughed, leaning onto the palm of his hand and smiling. His hair fell into his eyes a little, though he didn’t seem to care, “Not that I’m complaining, of course, ah—to be young and in love.”

_In love?_

Weiss stared at him, silently trying to process what he was saying. Neptune seemed to be under the impression that she had been just _what_ , exactly? She couldn’t make any sense of it, her mouth slanting into a frown. “I know I am undoubtedly going to regret asking this, but what are you trying to say?”

Neptune smiled, and it was a look on his face that Weiss didn’t like one bit. He hummed, straightening out his posture and stretching a little, yawning into the palm of his hand as she shifted uncomfortably. His grin turned a bit roguish, an expression that she recognized from odd interactions she’d seen between him and Sun.

A sliver of dread ran down her spine.

“Hey, Weiss?” He asked innocently, batting his eyelashes and puckering his lips. “Are you so repressed as to bully the girl you have a crush on? Are we doing like, third grade boy pulling a girl's pigtails status or...?” He trailed off, lifting his palms and shifting them as though weighing options. 

Weiss frowned, looking down at her shoes. “I’m not a bully.”

“Honest that’s a bit debatable.” Neptune piped up with a raised brow, “Though I _was_ mostly joking.”

“It wasn’t very funny.” She retorted, deciding to ignore the very real point he seemed to be making. 

“Totally see that now! Much apologies.” He said, though he didn’t seem particularly apologetic.

She wrapped her jacket tighter around herself, trying and failing not to feel too defensive. “Just say sorry normally and make it easier for the both of us.”

“Heh, sorry.” Neptune said, sounding more genuine than before—he sounded more genuine than Weiss would have been, if that meant anything. “Anyway, back to Ruby.”

She schooled her features, trying not to make it obvious how badly she was panicking on the inside. There was something about the relationship she had with Ruby that she was hesitant on labeling, wary to even _think_ about, she didn’t want Neptune getting in her head and mucking all that up. “What about her?”

“Oh, _nothing_ , I’m sure.” It should be known that his voice was very sarcastic as he was talking, and it did nothing to endear Weiss to him. “I mean, so what if someone slips in a little flirting while friends are bickering—that says nothing.”

_Flirting?_ The thought was absurd, smacking her in the face and leaving her near gaping. “What are you talking about?”

“You like her.” Neptune said very slowly, as though he was speaking to a small child. “Did that just escape your notice?”

“She’s very pleasant company.” Weiss retorted defensively. “Liking her has nothing to do with it.”

“That’s not what you were saying maybe, what? Two weeks ago?” He was still smiling, but she couldn’t help but feel there was something chastising in the way he arranged his face. “What’s a little pigtail pulling between friends?”

Weiss swallowed, looking away from him. She couldn’t stand whatever he was trying to do—what he was trying to say. Deep down she knew that she ought to listen, if only to understand what other people saw when they looked at the two of them; but the idea of even entertaining the thought of his words... it was a distinctly uncomfortable notion.

Unfortunately, his words reverberated around in her skull, sticking to the inside of her brain—intertwining with her thoughts, and just _sticking_ . There would be no getting it out of her mind, and for that she felt the type of frustration that stayed; the kind that plopped itself down on your chest and didn’t move.

“We’re friends,” Weiss said through gritted teeth, “not whatever you are trying to imply.” 

“Not exactly, considering the fact that you _like_ her.”

She leveled him with a look. “You sort of have to like someone in order to be friends with them.”

“Doesn’t stop you and Sun.” He retorted.

Weiss couldn’t help it when she snorted.

(Why did he have to be sort of funny? That didn’t seem fair, considering right at that moment she was so determined to hate him.)

Neptune smiled, and she saw that odd boyish tilt of his mouth again. “C’mon, Snow Angel, don’t play—I can’t jump through all those hoops like Ruby can.”

She kind of... hated the fact that he had so easily managed to get her into a better mood. It wasn’t like she was happy with him or anything, she was rather annoyed with him, but somehow he’d managed to make it so that his words (which Weiss found heavy and hard) suddenly came out like banter. “I believe that means only that you are impatient, and that doesn’t reflect on me or my actions.”

“Cute.” He raised his brows with a smile, his eyes crinkling. “Seriously though.”

“She’s _Ruby_.” Weiss said, because that was the only argument she could think of—as though saying her name like that might make him understand. When he only stared at her, encouraging her to continue, she sighed. “That has only just begun meaning something, what kind of person would I be if I immediately tried for something more than that, to get something else out of it?” 

“Is that how you see relationships?” Neptune asked, his smile steadily fading. He studied her for a moment, as though if he looked at her just a moment longer he might be able to understand where exactly she was coming from. “A transaction between two parties?” 

Weiss looked him in the eye, her mouth pursed. “It’s hardly a transaction.”

Everything between them would be taking, wouldn’t it? There was no way it _wouldn’t_ be taking, not after all that Weiss had been through, all that she had put Ruby through. She was a bitch—she didn’t mind that, she was _growing_ and who cared if she was a little prickly because of it? Reluctant change was better than no change at all, but if it was about _deserving_ , about if every time Ruby smiled at her she felt like she was worthy? She’d fall short.

She’d fall short every single time. 

Something people don’t talk about often is how quiet self-hatred could be sometimes. Logically, Weiss knew that she did a good thing in a bad situation, that she got out of a place that would harm her (that _had_ harmed her) and that she deserved a little bit of tenderness from people who would gladly show her that. But there was that nagging little feeling that held her back, hooked into her ribcage and reeling her back—like she was a fish on a line desperate to escape the open air where she would surely perish.

So no, no it wasn’t a transaction. It was _hardly_ a transaction, because even that would be, because even _that_ would be—

“No, because that would be better.” Neptune said, his brows furrowed. He looked shaken for a moment, and Weiss couldn’t help but feel the same. She knew she hadn’t said any of what she’d thought out loud, but his words had shaken her. He pursed his lips, looking at her through his hair. “Because then at least _everyone_ would be getting something out of it, but the way you see it, well... it’s like _stealing_ for you, isn’t it?”

Weiss took a deep breath through her nose, her chest feeling too heavy to breathe. “We’re not nearly close enough to be having this conversation.”

“You’re probably right.” He said weakly, sighing. “Think about it though.”

“How entitled must you be to even _begin_ to think this conversation might hold any weight to me?” She snapped at him, feeling held down by her very words.

Neptune smiled, and though it was a little weak, it was surprisingly earnest. “Have a good day, Weiss.”

Weiss turned away from him and left, almost wanting to have a bad rest of her day just to spite him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow!! weiss has never seen a healthy relationship in her entire life so her worldview on them has been appropriately shaped by that!! what a mood-i mean totally unforeseen turn of events!!!


End file.
